[Barak Bloodbraid, High Shaman of the Snake Clan defeated! Reward: 295 EP, 35 Shards]
[New Title! Death or Freedom! You broke the prison bars of your enslaved people and led them to storm the stronghold of their captors. You freed them and hunted down the man who was not only the leader of your enemies, but also responsible for the death of your father and involved with the Dragon of Darkness. You, and the men who stormed their prison with you, were weak and underleveled, but prevailed even in the face of unsurmountable odds. Your people paid a heavy price for their freedom, and only time will tell if it was worth it.
It’s acts like this the aeons, heavens and hells recognize and reward!
New Skills unlocked:
[Shadow Play]
[Domain of Obtenebration]
[Corrupt Life Force]
Additional rewards: 250 EP and 50 Shards]
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The experience of restoring my broken body with the power of Essence was not new to me, but it had been unnerving, nonetheless. Even more unnerving had been waking up with a pristine body, while around me my allies had gathered, staring at me with wide eyes and confused looks. Some of them had known that I was a Twice-Born. But knowing it and seeing with their own eyes how my broken body just restored itself were a different pair of shoes.
But we had other problems than discussing my miraculous healing. Two members of the Wounded Pride were dead. Manus and Zora had been covered by tarps, lying beside six covered bodies of Wyldling hunters, who had lost their lives near the end of the battle, as the darkness had dispersed and the remaining warriors of the Snake Clan had fought tooth and nail to escape the isle.
Two more Bear Clam members were missing, but presumed dead, as one had been thrown of the ledge and one had taken one of his enemies with him into the chasm.
Higgins was unresponsive, but breathing, as was Kara. She had been found in the process of being strangled by the warrior with the granite claws, Raiva. She had tried to reach her brother at the end but had run into his guardian in the darkness. Both had been found entangled in a mess of plants that bound and restrained Raiva, thus saving Kara’s life at the end, as he had been unable to finish her off. We took him as prisoner, with Zero binding and watching over him.
Veneir had lost a lot of blood. He had been tortured and beaten and was weak to start with. The loss of his arm had thrown him into unconsciousness. He still was fighting for his life, fever-ridden, even days after the battle.
Simue had been inconsolable. She had been hysterically crying the first few hours, until she fell into an exhausted stupor, staring with dead eyes into the distance, focusing on nothing. She never responded to anyone, no matter the question asked.
I was the only one without heavy injuries.
And so, it had fallen to me to run back to Shipwreck Bay and get some help, as we could not move most of the wounded. I just had retrieved the corrupted amulets of the fallen warriors of the Snake Clan, the spear and bone club of Barak Bloodbraid, and the Urn of Shadows he had been playing with when I had found him. I did not want them to accidentally affect any of the others, the items were to dangerous to be left lying around. I threw them into my chest without touching them. I had not been able to pry away the gem in the severed arm of Veneir, so the whole thing went into the chest.
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I ran like the wind. Exertion and the stress of hurdling boulders, gaps and vines drove back the grief and heavy thoughts that lurked beneath the surface of my thoughts. I did not want to think about the dead. I was used to tragedy, but not jaded to the pain.
I had not known them well. Zora, the [Swordswoman] and Manus, the [Guardian Knight]. Just for a couple of days. But these days had been enough to tell me that we would have been friends and allies, united under a common cause.
We had lost great people that day. They would have been pillars of the community. Leaders, Paragons and Champions. Everything was darker and more difficult now that they were gone. I could not tell if there were tears mixing with the rain that slapped me in the face every step of the way. They had been knights, if just in spirit. Sworn to protect their people and the weak. They had gone out blazing, their lives not wasted, but carving a path to freedom and the future.
If they had been given the option, back down in the bloody hold of Barak’s ship, they would have taken the path they ended up taking in a heartbeat. I would make sure their sacrifice would never be forgotten.
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I found myself sitting on the edge of the Needle, overseeing Shipwreck Bay, days after the battle. Days after the somber wake we had held for the fallen. Days after I had spoken of their lives and legacy, and of our allies the Wyldlings, laying the seed for future cooperation. In the end we had to burn everybody and let the wind take away the ashes. We just had not enough soil to bury them and the other 500 or so bodies, or time to cut graves out of the stone.
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My brother sat at my side, playing with the fire he had built up here, somehow resistant to the enormous winds. We had gotten used to meeting on the top of the Needle in the evenings. I was busy working down in the Wreckage, while he was busy building a secure camp up in the Broken Lands, while the people he had sent for began to trickle in. A few of them had gotten the Dragonamber too late to prevent changes to their bodies.
“It is a beautiful view.” He finally said. “A beautiful place, wildly romantic and dangerous. Just as we Wyldlings like it.”
“A place worth building a future in.” I agreed, my eyes wandering over the bay and the mountains in the distance. I was called by the endless possibilities of the ocean and the inherent mysteries.
“It won’t be easy. Your humans don’t like to look at us.”
“You cannot forget centuries of war in a week. But we need to try. Bring them together, somehow.”
Cogar nodded thoughtfully, poking the fire. “There will be more. More remnants of clans I want to lead to safety.”
“Will the Mad King be a problem?”
He shrugged. “We can go around and take a ship, if push comes to shove. But he has the young [Shamans] and [Seers], still. He has not violated his ancient oath to look after them, yet.”
“I would hate to make that man an enemy. He is terrifying.” I shuddered, remembering the clash with his seasonal aspects.
“We need more Dragonamber, though. You have given me several hundred, but that is not close to the number of Wyldlings looking for shelter.”
“I want to send ships to the Empire as well, rescue as many as we can. We will need more Dragonamber, that is for sure. And we should continue building the way down to the dragon before winter sets in.”
We both nodded. It had not been the first time we talked about it.
“The Wyldlings will not just accept your leadership.” Cogar finally said. “Not even I will bend a knee or whatever your people do.”
I sighed. It was a sore topic. The humans had just given me the leader role, I had not even brought it up. At the night of the wake, Captain Locksley had just stood up and spoken about the need for teamwork and order, to survive the following months. At the end he had given command to me, the only member of nobility present.
The people even had cheered. They knew me. I had freed them, with my own hands in a lot of the cases and with my life on the line. Stories about me and my fight with Barak Bloodbraid were the talk of the town. The looks I got, when they thought I was not aware of them, were close to admiration and reverence. I would be lying if I said to not…want it.
I was a Margrave. I was born and trained to do the job.
But I was a Twice-Born of the Wanderer as well.
I would not die of old age. I felt the urge to leave for new shores and horizons. My new life had been a constant struggle for survival, and I had traveled dangerous places. I had finally found a place of relative safety. And yet I was not meant to stay in one place too long. I could feel it.
“I would never demand such a thing. But won’t integrating both cultures be impossible then? Won’t we divide further, what already is divided?”
“Maybe.” He grumbled. “And maybe that’s all right. And maybe time will change everything, without our hands stirring the pot.”
I nodded. We had more urgent problems to solve first, anyway.
“Shipwreck Bay is no name for a settlement.” Cogar said.
“I know. I thought about something that encompasses the meaning of it all. Sanctuary, for example. A place for the lost and bound to come to. A place of freedom and safety.”
“Sanctuary is stupid as well.” Cogar grumbled.
“You think? It does sound rather grandiose for a pile of ships and a waterfall.”
“I am older than you, brother. So, listen to me once. We Wyldlings do not have many cities, but those that wander. But names do matter. We call one of them Wagonsea. Stupid. Because it is a sea of wagons, literally. But used a thousand times and by all and it loses its stupidity and gains meaning.”
“So? What of it?”
“Do not strive for meaning you can’t promise. Strive for something else. Don’t labor over a perfect name, the name will grow on its own, no matter how stupid.”
“Strive for what?”
“Like a history you could draw a sense of community from. Wyldlings care a lot about the Clans and spiritual animals that guided them. That matters. The Wyldlings I gather from the other clans must enter the Bear Clan first. Why? Because it matters. Because I am the [Chosen of Bear]. Because it is the reason I lead.”
I fell silent in thought. He was right, of course. He was not only smart but had the knowledge of the [Fire Keepers] of the Wyld to draw upon, and centuries of history preserved by their fires.
I was not a child anymore.
I was no headless ideologist. I knew that power and politics were a game played with dirty hands and hard men and women, smart and ruthless enough to stay on top. Right now, we had built a sanctuary with a small and cohesive group of people who have had similar experiences. But that would not last forever, would it?
What if we rescued a noble from the ashes of the Empire? Would he accept my leadership or assume to be my superior, based on rules of a dead society? I had to be smarter than that.
“You are right. We need a name that refers to a history, one people can relate to. A banner they can rally to. A name that legitimizes me as the person on top. I can step down whenever, but in the fragile stages the people need stability.”
“Yes. And you are a godling.” He leaned forward, poking me with his claw. “Do not be modest. I am Cogar Firehand, Unchallenged Hunter, Chosen of Bear, Chieftain of the Bear Clan. I am not modest. Modesty does not rule.”
I played with words in my mind, tasting them on my tongue, rolling them around. A lot of them just sounded stupid. I did not like names with more than one word.
“Ravenport.” I finally said, watching over the bay, the most prominent feature of our new settlement, if far from the only one.
A blue light settled at the edge of my field of view, a long desired blue box. Apparently, the rulers of the system and the mortal classes agreed with my choices.
[Class evolution: Margrave of Ravenrock -> Lord Protector of Ravenport
Level up! Lord Protector of Ravenport Lvl. 6!
New Skill gained: Bearer of Bad News
Level up! Lord Protector of Ravenport Lvl. 7!
New Skill gained: Aura of Authority
Level up! Lord Protector of Ravenport Lvl. 8!
New Skill gained: Discern Subject]
“A good name.” Cogar smiled.
“A place worth fighting for. A place to travel from, but always return to. A place of safety. A place to settle down or rest. The place where the Last Flight of the Raven ended.”