Episode 3: Prologue
In the southern territory of Ragnofheim, a range of impossibly large mountains sprawled over a thousand square miles. It was known as the Sea of Stone. There the dwarves and giants ruled and coexisted in a fragile forced peace as they both battled the invasion from the northern kingdom.
Near the center of the territory and thousands of feet below the surface was a colossal cavern. It measured roughly twenty miles long and twelve miles wide with a thousand foot ceiling at its shortest point. Within it was Grandring, The Home Forge - capital city of the dwarves. A hundred thousand of the industrious humanoids labored here under the artificial sun and moon.
The mythical artifacts had already been there, mirroring the light and dark cycles of the surface, emitting light that could even grow plants when the first party of dwarven miners had discovered the place seven thousand years past.
Now the sun artifact was dormant, and the silver orb of the moon was full in the subterranean sky. Most of the great city slept, resting for the following day’s arduous work. There was one place that never rested, however. It was a three story pub and gaming hall known as The Blind Dragon. Here a dwarf or any visitor could find any manner of pleasurable distraction so long as they had the coin to purchase it.
On the first floor was a gambling hall full of laughter, curses, occasional scuffles, and whispered deals. In a shadowy corner booth, two young elven visitors with low pulled hoods sipped ale with grim faces.
“Five more minutes and I’m leaving.” One whispered in an annoyed but melodic tone. “General Arck is gone with the dawn. We won’t get this chance twice and I won’t miss it for another pointless report.”
“Easy sis.” The other replied in a deeper voice. “And fix your ear, the right one is slipping.” He added more softly, leaning forward and pointing.
“Like anyone would even notice.” She grumbled, fixing the convincing disguise that hid her humanity. “Damn dwarves won’t so much as look at anything that isn’t shiny or alcoholic.”
“Such an old stereotype, lassy.” A rough sounding voice suddenly croaked from under the table. “We dwarves appreciate beauty in all sorts of ways, and the beauty under this table ain’t half bad!”
The woman kicked too swiftly for the dwarf to react, and he tumbled to the floor outside the booth with a chuckle. His nose was clearly busted but he barely acknowledged it. His thick red mustache caught the blood as it trickled from both nostrils above his nearly toothless smile. Typical dwarven toughness.
“Well spit it out, Van.” The man disguised as an elf prompted, already tired of the repetitive act between the two. “What drivel from the north is it this time? Hook beetles bothering the turnips?”
“Oh nothin’ so serious as that my boy. The turnips are doing right fine. Right fine indeed.” The dwarf’s grin widened as he continued. “The crown prince, Crusibilis Knight Gespar... is... dead!” He dropped the staggering news, savoring every word as it rolled past his gums.
The girl stood bolt upright prepared to exclaim loudly, but her more cautious brother raised a hand and she regained her senses. As she took her seat, the man locked eyes with the foul smelling dwarf and spoke one word.
“Elaborate.”
“With pleasure!” The dwarf snatched a hunk of hard bread from the table and without asking dunked it in the man’s nearly untouched ale. The twins’ matching hazel eyes twitched in rage but neither moved to stop him.
“Mmm... So you know that little town that used to be run by that old bloodthirsty son of a harlot Filam? Hey this is pretty good bread, wonder if they switched bakers! Anyway some guy shows up there two weeks ago with some friends, and my people tell me one of them appraised at level 300. Don’t look at me like that, I’m just repeating what I heard. Ah damn cracked another tooth. I take it back this bread ain’t that great if they can’t even manage to get all the stone out of the flour right? Oh yeah, so anyways they showed up and just like that-” The dwarf paused and attempted to snap his fingers but failed only to try again several more times before a low and impatient growl interrupted him. He instead clapped his hands and continued. “They slaughtered The Warlord and all his minions like they were ordering breakfast! Yeah, see now that level 300 stuff doesn’t sound so crazy right?” The dwarf took another long pause to dig at his newly cracked molar with a dagger produced from seemingly nowhere.
“And then?” The woman prodded, shifting her cloak to display the ornate hilt of a wicked looking rapier.
“Right.” The dwarf mumbled as he extracted his hand from his mouth, holding a yellow molar between two bloody fingers. “Shit, pulled the wrong blasted one. So the little blueberry knight gets word from the duchess that this guy’s poaching his monsters and decides he’s gonna handle it himself with the Fifth Unit. They ride into town, make a big show of force and then he gets his wish. The guy shows up, and a cloud of ash covers the whole area, knights and all. When it clears the whole Fifth and their pigs are just plain gone and Gespar is a neat pile of guts and blue metal.”
“Anything else?” The male knight spoke slowly, clearly trying to absorb the impossible story.
“You two have been recalled by the king himself. Pack your shit and get outta my city, you stink.” The dwarf delivered these final words as an open threat, suddenly dropping his carefree attitude.
“One day, I’ll feed you your own skin for dinner and your little dwarf prick for dessert.” The woman promised as she stood.
“Not if I feed it to you first.” He jabbed back with a wink and a bow.
“Of all the scum in the world, why is that one the most protected?” The man asked a few minutes later as the pair approached their inn. “I have never desired to slice up anyone quite so much as him.”
“In this city he’s literally invincible, but some day I’ll have him. Van Kothis, the Weaver King will die by my hand.” The woman clenched a leather gloved fist as she vowed.
“Not before he’s bled the world of all its gold most likely. This means we won’t get our shot at the general after all.” The man grumbled sourly. “Three months in this damn hole for nothing.”
“Why should we have to go running back just because that weakling got snuffed?” She agreed. “Guess it can’t be helped. If we delay they’ll send Black to collect us.” She shuddered at the thought. “Let’s go.”
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Far to the east of the Sea of Stone, beyond the mountains which forbade the passage of clouds from the western ocean was the sun baked Rakashi Desert. The region was the ancestral home of Ragnofheim’s various species of beast folk, and all but the southwestern corner had been ruthlessly conquered by the kingdom to the north. Fleeing seemed impossible for the refugees. Their long-time allies the dwarves and giants had closed their borders, the eastern coast was blockaded with enemy ships and opportunistic pirates, and the south was the domain of demons and monsters.
Less than a mile from a small tent village of refugees, an enormous army of five thousand armed and disciplined warriors was gathered. A giant of a knight and his retainer - a powerfully built woman nearly as tall as he walked alone to the center of the village where a small crowd of emaciated and miserable looking beast kin awaited. Some looked upon the golden armored eight foot tall pair with fear, but most simply had hollow eyes too tired and thirsty to fear death any longer.
A reluctant leader stepped forward, she was thin and gaunt with black spots on her pale skin along with the tail and ears of a wild dog. She knelt in total submission.
“Please pass us by. The sands will claim us soon, you need not waste your steel.”
The knight was silent behind his helm for a moment.
“How many are here?” He asked in a baritone voice that was surprisingly gentle.
“We are eighty one today, yesterday we were more than a hundred. We fled your blue comrades in the north but one may not flee thirst.” The woman was too tired and defeated to lie.
“Another mess.” The woman behind the knight lamented quietly. “Did that infantile halfwit spare anyone he met?”
“You need not fear us. I have taken over The Blue Knight’s command in this region and our aim is peaceful occupation. I am Crusibilis Knight Yuther the Paladin. I vow that your terror is at an end so long as you remain peaceful.”
“You mean as long as we remain PASSIVE.” A hoarse accusation faded into dry rattling coughs from an aging tiger beast kin covered in old scars and fresh bandages. “You occupy peacefully at first, then over time tighten your hold until we are no better than your slaves.” He stood tall and proud, displaying still taut muscle even if he was on death’s door from dehydration.
“I bear no gift for seeing the future, but I am a man of my word.” The knight’s voice remained gentle. “Are there any others that must oppose us as a matter of principle?”
Two other beast kin stepped forward to stand with the aging tiger: a bear woman who must have once been hugely formidable but now seemed barely able to stand, and a small but grim faced fox man. The three carried no weapons but showed no fear as they defiantly stepped before the pair of knights.
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“Forgive me for attempting to shake your resolve as warriors, but I must once more. I can give you water, food, and safe passage to your home in the north which I have already ordered rebuilt. The only other gifts I have are steel, and death.”
The tiger spat in the sand (or at least made the motion of doing so) and growled in response.
“Better to die standing now than worked to death in a mine later.” The bear woman snarled.
“If she goes, I go.” The fox man said simply, looking at the bear woman next to him.
“Very well, I see you have made your decision.” The knight lamented. “I’m afraid you are not mighty enough to face me directly. Trasana, give them a battle worthy of their courage.”
“May I heal their bodies first, My Knight?” She asked with a deep bow. “There would be no honor in a battle against the walking dead.”
“Of course, I insist on it.” He answered, pleased with her initiative.
A chorus of shocked whispers and exclamations rippled among the gathered beast folk, they were going to heal their enemies? Such precious items and magics were priceless and practically unheard of here. The clamor grew as she knelt, her golden platemail glittered in the evening sun. She folded her hands in prayer. Then an enormous magic circle of golden runes appeared, encompassing everyone in the shabby village.
“Great Un’hana. She that is loved by the water and air, smile upon us that we may sing your praise: Healing Rain!”
For a moment nothing seemed to happen, then a shadow slowly fell over them all. The temperature mercifully dropped as heavy gray clouds materialized above. Thick drops of sweet smelling rain fell from those clouds, and every single one that soaked into the skin of a villager restored vitality miraculously.
Life returned to the eyes of every beast folk, and from those eyes tears came unbidden. Bodies once too dry to cry suddenly burst like dams and most fell to their knees in open worship of the two knights.
Trasana stood, and from her back she pulled an enormous golden single edged sword with no hand guard. The three grim faced challengers were indeed moved by the incredible spell but were far too proud to back down now.
Suddenly though, dozens of villagers moved to stand between the knights and the rebels. They did not mean to aid their kin. They stood to protect the knights. The trio’s resolve broke simultaneously and suddenly. The thought of turning their claws on their own kind was too much to bear.
“Is option A still available?” The now fully rejuvenated tiger warrior sheepishly asked.
“We’ve never had to use option B.” Yuther replied with genuine happiness in his voice. A sudden shout from the edge of the village broke the moment.
“Crusibilis Knight Yuther, General Trasana!” A winded, lightly armored man approached on the back of a giant armored monitor lizard. “Urgent news from Crown City!”
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Episode 3: Chapter 1
The mighty mountain giant’s iron banded tree trunk club cut through the air in an overhead chop that could reduce a boulder to rubble. The opponent before him might as well have been a bug, so great was the size difference. She was a cat girl, just under five feet tall and no more than sixty pounds in weight. Her golden eyes showed no hint of fear as they focused past the descending weapon to her target. The club struck home, but when it did the girl exploded into a cloud of choking ash rather than blood and gore.
A horrible sting on the giant’s calf alerted him to the ruse, he looked down but the pain was traveling up his leg too fast to follow as the real girl scaled his leg like a soft fence post. Before he could react she was climbing his lower back and finally a moment later a poignant poke on the bulging vein in his neck signaled that the end had come.
“Got you Mr. Yugal!” The girl said playfully.
“Indeed miss Niiya. Very well played.” The giant prince rumbled in his landslide voice and couldn’t hide his broad smile.
I watched the two at play in the snowy field between EDEN and Filam. I couldn’t help but shake my head in disbelief. It had only been three weeks since I had used my Soul Brand ability to give Niiya the powers she had just displayed. Her Ash Clone ability created a perfect visual copy of her, capable of inflicting attacks just as she would and when destroyed it left behind a cloud that stung the eyes and lungs. Her Obsidian Claws were even harder and sharper than my own demonic ones, and her natural feline agility was magnified by the huge boost in raw stats she had gained in her evolution.
She had once been a shy, sweet little girl. She was still kind hearted and sweet as ever but an unmistakable mischievous streak was showing itself. It could be the fact that she was now growing up exponentially faster than normal. Her Age Stasis-Prime Cat Folk ability was fast forwarding her body’s growth to whatever the age cat folk were considered to be in their prime. She was still technically only about seven years old but she now appeared closer to twelve or thirteen in human terms. The other influence on her personality if I had to guess was the other person on the field, whom Niiya looked up to and idolized like a big sister.
Jade the hilu jing, a mythical nine tailed fox spirit capable of shapeshifting was cheering Niiya on next to me. She was in her human form which I still couldn’t help but be extremely attracted to. At least she was wearing a heavy fur cloak at the moment.
“Master!” Jade turned to me and held up her small wrapped fists. “Let’s spar already. I feel myself getting rusty.”
“You’re just bored. Spar with Yugal again.” I said with a yawn. I really was pretty tired from a long morning of meetings with town officials and guild masters.
“He’s too fragile, I end up having to pull my punches and heal him after.” She pouted. I could see Yugal’s shoulders stoop slightly and a wince cross his proud face.
“Oh fine, I’ll play around with you for a bit.” I finally caved to her charms. “I need the practice too.”
She threw off her cloak and gave a happy cheer. I suppressed the urge to stare and instead inhaled deeply to gather my focus. We might just be sparring but Jade was still an overwhelmingly powerful opponent.
Yugal sat down cross legged in the snow, unbothered by the cold. Niiya leaped easily atop his shoulder and sat down similarly. It was a cute sight, both of them cross legged and giddy with excitement to watch Jade and I have our mock battle.
“Are you going to use that spear? I saw you messing with it yesterday.” Jade asked.
“You watched that huh?” The thought made me a little embarrassed. I was now able to equip my old favorite weapon from Exiled Gods, a seriously disgusting and broken spear known as Charon’s Call. It had an effect that given the real consequences of this world I wouldn’t even consider using it to simply spar against an ally.
“No, that weapon’s for real enemies only.” I answered as I did some unnecessary stretching. My boss monster body was always perfectly ready to fight. “Ready?”
I saw her throat and mouth move. She had indeed said yes before attacking. She leaped forward, literally beating the sound of her own voice with a boom as she launched a high kick aimed squarely at my left ear. I tilted my head just slightly so that the kick would barely miss, and tuned my senses to that special frequency belonging only to those that have spent thousands of hours in front of an opponent in a hand to hand situation.
I’ll try to sum up what that means exactly. Your eyes subconsciously prioritize your opponent’s movements from the core outward. Jade’s right hip was elevated to sell the kick, but her left foot had not turned out to follow it through with all of her power. It wasn’t quite a feint but she expected me to avoid it. At the last moment she angled the kick to go straight above my head. It was a setup for an axe kick that would catch an opponent in the face as they fell back to gain distance. That’s why I moved forward, pressing into her comfort zone and sending a fast jab of my own.
My strike was also not meant to land. I opened my fist as she easily slipped the blow and grabbed her tightly behind the neck. This is called a collar tie. If you ever try this just remember to sink your wrist into their collar bone, drop your hips so they’re holding your weight, and keep your thumb tight to your hand in the shape of a meat hook.
Jade was physically as strong as me, but her skills seemed to be stunted in the grappling department. I was able to continually shift and adjust my position so that I was always at an angle favorable for me as she thrashed in frustration for a few full seconds. In that time I also landed a dozen or so short blows to her midsection.
“GRRR!” A very not human like growl warned me that I was about to push phase two of this boss fight.
In half of a blink, I was suddenly holding a fist full of dense green fur. Where the girl’s neck had been was now a rock solid wall of muscle. A roar and a swipe later I was forced to abandon my hold. Ever seen a Clydesdale or other really big draft horse up close? Imagine that size but a fucking tiger with the power to... well you’ll see in a sec.
This part sucked. The second she was fully in her tiger form, Jade activated its ability. Her dense fur became green fire, and two small gouts of the jade flame leaped away from her body on either side. Where they landed, miniature flaming copies of her sprang to life and quickly grew to full size.
The first seconds after she summoned her clones were vital. Ever watch a nature show where anything successfully messes with a big cat? There’s only one way to do it, and that’s to stay on the end that doesn’t have teeth. I now knew from experience that her clones would attempt to surround me, meaning that they wouldn’t move to protect Jade’s blind spots.
I rushed forward, confident that with my instant movement skills I would easily be able to get behind her and start the game of spin the kitty. As I blinked the last ten feet behind her and held my hand back to swipe at her exposed rear legs something strange happened. The world turned green, then everything went black.
My eyes suddenly opened and I sat bolt upright. I could feel that I was injured but regenerating fast. I could feel a small hand patting me on the back gently. It was Niiya.
“Ohh I so freaking got you, Master!” Jade was back in human form and dancing a happy jig.
“How...?” I was gobsmacked. I hadn’t been surprised by an enemy’s mechanics in a very long time.
“You did the same thing as last time so I just had my clones run behind me to meet you instead of try to surround you.” She looked perplexed. “Why would I make the same mistake twice?”
She was right, and I was a fucking idiot. I was still treating this like a game. She could and would develop new tactics right along with me.
“Well looks like you passed my test then!” I took a page from Ariel’s playbook and lied my silly ass off.
“Oh you’re so full of it.” She sneered playfully.
I stood up and Niiya’s hand moved to tug at my sleeve.
“What’s up?” I turned to look at her as I asked.
She pointed at her mouth in response. “Food.”
Her appetite had gone through the roof since her evolution, not surprising given the rate she was growing.
“Hmm... how about some nice steamed vegetables?” I teased and we started the short walk back to the resort, avoiding the small craters and crevices caused by our training.
“Eww!” She groaned.
“Sheesh, so picky.” I chuckled. “The Styx Salmon Sashimi is still on cooldown. What’s the other one you liked?”
“Fried chicken!” She shouted and practically dragged me along.
One was a legendary recipe from a ridiculously long grindfest fishing challenge that had a unique effect which prevented one shot kills by leaving you with one Health if you would have died within a day of eating it. The other was just pretty good fried chicken. Niiya valued them equally.
Wait, prevented one shot kills...
Would Jade have fucking killed me if I hadn’t eaten that fish earlier!?
I stored that troublesome thought for later reflection and let Niiya pull me by the hand to the twenty story resort hotel that EDEN was currently configured to be. It featured two thousand full service suites of varying size and levels of luxury, an Olympic size swimming pool, hot tubs, saunas, athletic facility, three kitchens, a massive auditorium with seating for up to five thousand, and several conference halls. I still haven’t seen all of it if I’m being honest.
We entered through a side door concealed by illusion magic to avoid the crowd of visitors in the main lobby. In the wake of Filam’s secession from the kingdom, EDEN had become a place for medical aid and supplies for the people impacted by the sudden loss of trade from the capital.
We walked down the long hallway, passing scores of identical doors with numbers painted in elegant black and gold. Two smiling young elven women wearing newly made clothes and carrying bath towels were walking toward the three of us in the opposite direction. They ceased their happy conversation and practically scrambled to one side, bowing their heads. They were former slaves of the Warlord, and like most of the poor tormented women had become my guests. We had fully healed their bodies, and did all that we could to recover their spirits but they were still very fragile emotionally thanks to the very real and sustained trauma they had endured.
I stopped, and Niiya looked up at me impatiently. A poignant growl from her stomach said everything she was thinking. Could she do that on cue? Jade seemed to catch on at least, and watched curiously.
“Excuse me, you two.” I started, wondering how to proceed. “Would you mind telling me your names?”
They kept their eyes glued to the floor, but I could still see said eyes widen to saucers in terror.
“Y-you want to know such a worthless person’s name?” Stuttered the younger looking of the two, a sharp featured but pretty faced girl with long lavender tinted hair.
“Hell no, I don’t want to know the names of any worthless people. I want to know your names.” I chuckled, trying to break the ice with a joke. “No worthless people could survive the clutches of a Gorgothan and smile with their friend a few mere weeks later. That takes guts.”
It worked, and the two looked at each other, then at at me.
“I’m Tuara Zi.” The younger one said with a polite bow. “This is my aunt Kitha Zi. I’m afraid she is mute.”
The older elf woman named Kitha nodded and bowed as she was introduced.
“We owe you so much more than our lives, great one. We can’t help but fear ones who hold everything we are in their hands. We don’t mean to insult the great kindness you have shown us, but please forgive our wariness. Every day we fear that the dream will end and everything will come crashing down.” Tuara confessed her fears, and Kitha nodded along solemnly.
Of course they would be afraid. Looking at it from their perspective, how could this be anything but a glowing and surreal dream doomed to a horrible end.
“I can only imagine how you all must feel after what you’ve gone through.” I looked up at the almond colored ceiling, and one of the recessed lights temporarily blinded me. Ugh, Awakened Senses sure was a double edged sword. I blinked twice and continued. “I won’t make any grand promises since I kinda started a war and we’re in an uncertain time, but I can tell you I mean to protect everyone under my care and that includes you all for as long as you like.”
Their eyes glowed with admiration, and they both dropped to their knees in prostration. That was the exact behavior I was trying to stop. Rebuilding the shattered confidence and minds of these people was going to take long weeks of patient care. Or...
“Tabula.” I said, and her disembodied voice responded immediately. She could see and hear everything in EDEN at all times, it was scary but useful.
“Yes, Mr. Gray?” She sounded unusually distracted.
“Are you busy?” I asked quizzically.
“Just attending to our VIP guest on the 13th floor.” She answered.
That was code for ‘I’m torturing the fuck out of a demon on the floor that doesn’t exist.’
“I see.” I replied with a gulp. “Take a break and instruct all of the refugees we took in from The Warlord to meet in Conference Room 3 in two hours, please.” I instructed. “That includes you two ladies, please make time to be there. I promise it’ll be worth it.”