When I opened my eyes, it was already dawn. It was early morning. There was a light rain outside. I went up to the third floor and looked around. It was quiet and the forest was rustling. Small spirits levitated aimlessly, surprising me with their diversity. I looked around carefully, but I didn't notice anything dangerous. My mood was bad.
I think that the forest around the tower was cleared a long time ago. There used to be an open space, but nature has reclaimed it. Now, tall trees grow very close to the ancient walls of the tower. There is a lot of dense shrubbery between the tree trunks, which severely limits visibility. Someone cleared a small space right in front of the entrance to the tower, but it doesn't help much. Around the ruins, you could easily hide a hundred soldiers, and they wouldn't be noticed inside the tower. Those who come here are irresponsible about their safety. On the other hand, this work requires a lot of effort, and the tower is located in an unfriendly forest. Perhaps the secrecy of being in the ruins dictates its conditions. It's better to come quietly, spend the night, and leave just as inconspicuously.
I descended and cleared the passage. Amidst the dense greenery, a trail wound its way towards the river. The river was small, about three meters wide. The water was cold and transparent. No matter how much I stared into the water, I couldn't see any fish. Perhaps there were rapids somewhere nearby. I like these places. Quiet, nature, tranquility. It's a pity that it's dangerous here.
I washed myself for a long time. The night was stuffy and hot, and my body was sticky. My clothes weren't fresh either. I washed my shirt as best I could in the water. It's summer now, so I won't freeze without it. The shirt will dry quickly in the tower. I need to focus on breakfast and chores now. My stomach is starting to hurt from hunger. It's good that the Domovoy brought a rabbit yesterday. Now I won't have a headache about where to get food.
"Hey, Grandpa Atzhas, come here!" I shouted towards the tower.
"Good morning, grandson. " the old man appeared next to me. A kind smile froze on his face. "Did you call?"
"Good morning, Grandpa. Can you help? Please bring a knife and the rabbit. "
"Right away." Domovoi disappeared. A minute later he came out of the tower, dragging a pot with everything we needed.
I roughly knew how to skin these animals, but I had never personally done it before. I tied the rabbit's hind legs with rope to a tree branch. I tormented the poor animal for a while, stripping its skin off. I felt like a savage, but I managed to do it. Then I washed the meat in the stream and sliced it into pieces on a flat rock. I filled the pot with water and put the pieces in it. There will be meat broth. Boiled meat without salt isn't very tasty, but I didn't have a choice. I asked the Domovoy questions. He told me a lot of interesting things. During our conversation, Atzhas looked up and shooked his head, showing his attitude towards my stupidity. It didn't bother me, I was eager to gain knowledge about the world.
I learned that the Great Forest is poorly explored and completely uninhabited. Settlements end at the border of the Imperial Forest. That's the name of this part of the forest. It's about a week's journey southwest from here. There, the Atravia Empire begins. The country was formed after a war between humans and elves. The war between the two peoples lasted a long time, and there are many murky areas in this history that would take a long time to sort out. I don't feel like delving into history right now. I heard the main points of the Domovoy's short story. When there were few elves left and it became clear that it was the end for them, they disappeared. Researchers think that the elves went to another world, but no one knows how. When the elves disappeared, they slammed the door loudly. The entire human army pursuing them was destroyed. Not a single person survived. Instead of the living, the undead appeared. Researchers think that part of the army or all of the people were reborn. The Great Forest is a huge area that is unsuitable for life. Monsters roam here, predatory plants altered by magic grow, impenetrable swamps, shifting quicksands, traps, insects, animals, and deadly surprises abound. The farther into the forest from the border, the more dangerous it becomes.
Guilds of mages and rangers organized expeditions to the remaining cities of the elves. Often, the expeditions disappeared, and no one returned. When they did return, they told scary tales and refused to go there again. According to Domovoy, no expedition has been able to find information about the portal, so the theory of the disappearance of the elves remains unproven. Magi studying the Great Forest believe that the portal is located in the elven capital. However, no group of researchers sent there has ever returned, and the exact location of the city is unknown, only guessed. Over time, strange creatures appeared, always hostile towards humans, which confirm the theory of the portal's existence. There are reliable reports of vampires, harpies, werewolves, and other monsters, appearing exclusively in the forest. No one had heard of them in other parts of the world before. With their regular appearance, these monsters legitimize the theory of a functioning interdimensional portal, but nothing is known for sure.
More than 250 years ago, an attempt was made to burn down a major problem. The strongest mages gathered and performed a ritual, but something went wrong. An army of the undead burst out of the forest. It was difficult to stop them, and many people died. The area in front of the forest was devastated. The Great Forest itself suffered little damage and quickly recovered. People did not make any more attempts after that.
The territory of the Great Forest is enormous. One can lose several armies here and never be found again. Based on vague explanations from the Domovoy, I have assumed that the forest stretches for about two thousand kilometers from east to west. The imperial part of the forest, in depth, is relatively small - about five hundred kilometers. The exact size of the Elven part is unknown, but it is believed to be at least twice the depth of the imperial part, around one thousand kilometers. If we imagine about three million square kilometers of difficult terrain full of dangers, it becomes clear why even a large country cannot take control of the forest. Even the safest part - the Imperial section, which is about one million square kilometers, is weakly controlled. Rather, it is under some observation. Even in my world, with all the technical means, there would be very great difficulties in mastering such large and hostile spaces.
Along the coast, it is possible to travel by ship for the same five hundred kilometers. Beyond that, adventures begin: currents, unexpected winds, reefs, magical mists, and ships with skeletons on board. Harpy raids with heavy stones in their claws are also encountered. The Empire is forced to be constantly prepared for war. No one will be surprised if one terrible day, an army of skeletons pours out of the forest, or if the alves return, having regained their strength. Many scary prophecies circulate among the local population. So far, nothing has come true, but there are no guarantees.
The empire is very concerned about this situation. They have not been able to get rid of it. It is impossible to clear such a huge territory. The state expends huge forces and resources to guard the forest borders. Along the entire imperial region, army warriors are stationed in watchtowers. Ranger and mage groups carry out their operational tasks. They ensure that the "forces of evil" do not enter the inhabited territory. They clear the nearby outskirts from criminals who hide from the law in these wild territories. Deep reconnaissance, risking their lives, wanders through the forest, enters the elven part, to not miss a possible invasion. There is also a guild of gatherers operating in the forest. They carry out private and state orders for rare ingredients.
Also in the conversation, an unusual feature of this world was revealed. Atzhas explained why the boy knew nothing about ranged weapons. They haven't used bows for over three hundred years here. At the beginning of the war, humans were losing badly to the elves because of their mastery of bows. People believed that elves were born with bows. Naturally, the elves knew their forest better than they knew themselves. At some point, the situation became critical. The elven army emerged from the forests and successfully advanced further. The elves killed without any mercy. Humans were worse than animals to them. The elves were going to destroy the vile nuisance and take the entire world for themselves. Many human settlements were completely destroyed. Erased from the face of the earth, all inhabitants killed. It became clear that humanity was doomed. Then the council of archmages performed some complex ritual. Where the mages got it from and what they did is unknown. Everyone involved sacrificed themselves for the future of humanity. Almost nothing is known about the ritual. For many years, people have only been telling legends and fairy tales about it.
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As a result of the ritual, shooting with long-range weapons became impossible. In the empire, the prevailing theory is that there are intangible and invisible magical spheres scattered chaotically in the air. They hinder the movement of fast-moving objects. They were named spheres of magicians or spheres of reflection. The speed at which resistance from the spheres begins is known extremely vaguely. How can the locals measure it? I could not find an answer to this question. Domovoy's explanations were full of metaphors and vague reasoning. I tried for a long time to structure the vague explanations of Domovoy and translate them into quantities that I could understand.
I realized the following: Как только стрела набирает скорость, срабатывает великий рандом. It seems a ordinary arrow flies at about two hundred and fifty kilometers per hour. The arrow starts interacting with the reflection spheres at half its normal speed. It will be redirected in any direction, through different periods of time and distances.This will happen as long as the object has a high velocity, above the threshold velocity. To summarize, all objects in this world can move no faster than one hundred kilometers per hour. And this is very, very approximate. I concluded that in this world, only throwing weapons can be used.
Atzhas claims that in the first days after the ritual, many elves shot themselves or were killed by arrows from their own comrades. This dealt a severe blow to their army. Chaos and panic settled in the hearts of the elves. The talk of any offensive was abandoned. The elves were quickly driven out of the steppes back into the forests. The heavily armored infantry and cavalry of the humans simply annihilated the enemy. There was no mercy, only vengeance and blood. The elves ran fast. They had nothing to resist the heavy armor. The mages covered the warriors, and the infantry moved forward. It became more difficult in the forests. But humans switched places with the elves. Now humans pursued and killed the enemies. The elves didn't have much time left, and the forest couldn't help them for long. Then something unknown happened. Elves were no longer seen, and the human army disappeared as well. Monsters appeared. Scientists have been debating for three hundred years what happened there.
The birds were affected the most by the changes. In the beginning, many of them perished, but then people noticed that they adapted. At a certain altitude, the birds started to decrease their flight speed. Atzhas has no reliable information about where the spheres end at what altitude, he is not interested in it.
The spheres do not respond to the spells of the mages. After the war with the elves, it was logical to cancel this ritual, but the mages claimed that they could not do so. Why would they want to lose such power? The only one who can harm the enemy from a distance is a mage. And they became the main value and force in the modern warfare of this world.
People live along the border of the Imperial Forest, from the mountains to the coast. There are no settlements inside the forest itself as attempts to establish them have been constantly attacked. The imperial military and the mage guild are active in the forest. Between settlements, it takes half a day to three days of travel. There are no major cities near the Imperial Forest, only small towns, villages, and hamlets. The nearest large town is a little over seven days' journey from this tower. All of Atzhas's information is outdated and needs to be verified. The house spirit has not had contact with the outside world for a long time. It mostly listens to conversations of those who stop by the ruins.
These ruins turned out to be the remains of a watchtower that are found in the imperial part of the forest. The towers are manned by graduates and students of the final courses of magic academies. There are several dozen of these educational institutions throughout the country. Cadets of rangers from the nearest training camps also practice in the towers. In addition, operational groups looking for criminals or going on expeditions also stay in the towers. But it's all the same rangers and mages. Sometimes shady characters come in too. It may seem like life is bustling here and it's almost like a pass-through yard. But the towers are located about two hundred kilometers apart from each other. Getting to each tower is difficult and dangerous. Despite the fact that the towers attract people like a magnet, offering a roof over their heads and sturdy walls, a person can go without meeting anyone for months. The house spirit assured me that very few people stop at his ruins. His tower is the farthest from inhabited lands. The network of such shelters was built throughout the forest a long time ago. Atzhas claims that each tower has its own guardian spirit.
How did I get here? I walked through the forest for just under three hours. How did I cover such a vast distance through a dangerous forest in such a short amount of time, without even noticing the journey? The Domovoy dispersed the veil of mystery. He assured me that such a trick was nothing for the Leshy. The Leshy almost teleported me four hundred kilometers. The Domovoy spoke a lot about the forest spirit, his abilities, and servants, but he did so in a very vague and confusing way. It seemed like he was revealing his enemy's secrets, but it was very difficult to understand. I only noted that the Leshy is far from almighty, even in his own forest, and beyond it, he becomes an ordinary weak spirit. The Leshy is aided in managing the territory by an army of helpers, such as field spirits, swamp spirits, nightmares, wood sprites, and others. This diverse gang is not united, and each has their own interests. You can try to find common ground and establish cooperation with any of the bogeymen. The Domovoy also told me that there are strong, intelligent Loa wandering in the forest. There are also spirit-possessed animals that are very dangerous opponents, and it's best to stay away from them. Surely, part of the information the Domovoy provided was distorted, and he tried to confuse me with some of it. I didn't even try to figure out what was true in all of this.
Little spirits are called kvit. They are mostly harmless and busy with their only task - collecting specks of power. It's possible that some of them may evolve into weak but sentient spirits if they accumulate enough power. There are also dangerous kvit for humans, but they are rare in the Imperial forest and more common in the Elven forest, where one must be extremely cautious. For example, a malevolent kvit may attach to a person's aura and drain their strength. The carrier will become tired faster, inevitably fall ill, become irritable and angry, and eventually die if not rid of the parasite. If there are many of these kvit, a person can die within a few hours. Amulets can protect against kvit, and a purification ritual can get rid of them. For me, they are not a threat. It seemed to me that their activity is very similar to a curse.
Atzhas detailed several dozen malicious kvits. If there had been paper and a pen, one could have written a whole encyclopedia about these creatures. But there were no writing materials in the ruins. I only remembered a few of the most interesting ones. For example, there are kvits that eat iron, ink, and spoil food. There are spirits that attach themselves to a person's aura around their ears and constantly squeak. They do it so subtly and imperceptibly that the unfortunate person is guaranteed to lose their hearing, and he won't even understand why. It's good that there are not many of them. Mostly they are harmless, living for their one and only interest. The Domovoy listed some of the useful ones, for instance, kvits that help care for fields with crops. In trees, there are their own little keeper spirits that protect the trunks from pests and other dangers.
The Domovoy confirmed my suspicion that a malicious kvit could be caught and intentionally planted on someone. I already know how to catch them, but where should I put it so it doesn't escape? The Domovoy showed a runic pattern that needs to be applied to a closing container and infused with spiritual power. The kvit won't be able to fly away from such a container. It will remain there until it is retrieved or the energy is depleted.
I took an empty bottle in the tower, carved runes with a knife, and poured spiritual energy into it. Then, I went to catch some kvits. It turned out that the container can hold about ten small spirits. I thought and came to the conclusion that this is a very powerful weapon. Of course, not in a fast-paced battle. But as a quiet way of getting rid of troubles, there is nothing better. When I find the necessary kvit, I will definitely catch some extra as a backup.
While the broth was boiling, I discovered an unknown grain in the tower. The Domovoy brought some root vegetables that remotely resembled potatoes, as well as something that tasted like carrots and two small eggs. Soon, I was eating a delicious soup.