Chapter 11

Jetkah was one of the few nations that was able to survive the Broken Age. Many speculations as to why this is are still argued to this day. Some say it was their isolationist governing. Some say it was their advantageous use of the mountains as a benefit from attack. Most out of all people credit the terrifying Jeindr as the main contributing factor. These reptilian two-legged rideable beasts have grown an extremely strong symbiosis with the people of Jetkah, making them a nightmare on the battlefield.

-Analysis on Jetkah

What greeted Nivra as he opened his eyes was a dimly lit room. Before he could look around a piercing pain shot through his body almost causing him to black out. Taking a few moments to recover Nivra began to inspect the condition of his body. He frowned as he realized there was significant damage to his nimora system. Many nimora channels were cracked with a few almost completely shattered. Panicking for a moment, Nivra began to check his familiars for any damage. After a few moments he breathed a sigh relief as he looked at his familiars. Looking into his soul space, he saw a dim blue light and a flickering black light orbiting around a large white mass. Sura was exhausted but had no real injuries while Shufen was injured and unstable. Shufen was already injured before I am lucky he has not dissipated Nivra thought. Seeing the situation of his nimora channels and his familiars Nivra turned his attention to his body. No broken bones, a few cuts from the previous battle Nivra thought somewhat surprised.

Nivra also noticed the wounds were wrapped in cloth showing that someone had tended to his wounds while he was unconscious. While he was wondering where he was and who bandaged his wounds the cloth door opened. Nivra was surprised to see that it was Rato who had walked in.

“How are you doing?” Rato asked seeing that Nivra was awake. Nivra opened his mouth to talk but began to cough due to his extremely dry throat. Rato picked up a gourd and handed it over to Nivra. Taking a large gulp Nivra nearly spit out the contents of the gourd before forcing himself to swallow.

“Are you trying to kill me! I just wanted water, not some bitter herbal tea!” Nivra said choking on the tea.

“Sorry we are just trying to help your injuries heal faster,” Rato said innocently as his face turned serious. Seeing Rato so grim Nivra express also sunk.

“How did I end up here?” Nivra questioned.

“We had hunters patrolling the forest since there has been a lot of odd moments in the last few days. While a group was out, they found you floating in a river surrounded by nimora. They remembered you, so they rushed back to the village,” Rato explained what had happened.

“I am deeply grateful for your help, you have saved my life,” Nivra thanked Rato.

“It's nothing, without you and your brother our village would have disappeared long ago,” Rato humbly said. “What caused you to end up in such a state?” Rato asked his curiosity getting the better of him. Hearing the question, Nivra thought back to what had happened. His eyes seemed to light up as an immense killing intent radiated out causing Rato to take a step back in fear.

“We were backstabbed by people who were like kin,” Nivra whispered with restrained fury. Nivra then explained briefly the sequence of events that led to him falling into the river. Rato’s face turned pale by the end of Nivra’s narrative.

“What will you do now?” Rato asked after calming down.

“I need to confirm if the clan has truly fallen,” Nivra answered standing up out of bed.

“I understand if there is anything we can don't hesitate to ask,” Rato offered.

“All I need us some supplies for the journey back,” Nivra said as he began to dress himself. Rato nodded as he walked out of the room. Nivra’s mind was muddled as the immensity of what had happened began to settle in. What am I going to do if the clan has fallen? Try and get revenge against a whole country? Ridiculous! Utter nonsense! Nivra thought while putting on the cloths the Nabi had prepares for him. As he was dressing himself, a voice came from outside the room.

“May I come in?” the voice questioned.

“Enter,” Nivra answered. In walked a Nabi dressed in boar pelt armor. Nivra recognized this Nabi as one of the ones who helped lure the boars. “Who are you and what do you want?,” Nivra questioned.

“My name is Tuin remember I helped with the boars,” Tuin answered. Nivra simply grunted in response. “I heard from Rato that you are planning to travel back to your city,” Tuin said.

“Get to your point,” Nivra snapped in annoyance.

“Take me with you, I want to experience the outside world,” Tuin requested while bowing his head.

“No, you will just be a burden,” he said remembering the poor performance of the Nabi with the boars.

“No, I will not! My strength has grown greatly since you sent a teacher over,” Tuin refuted.

“Now that you mention it I do remember sending over a teacher,” Nivra responded.

“I can also help you better navigate the forest and avoid trouble,” Tuin continued to try and persuade Nivra.

“Alright you can come with me, but I am not responsible for your life,” Nivra agreed to Tuin’s request. “We leave in an hour get your supplies together or I'll leave you behind,” Nivra said as Tuin rushed out the door. Nivra finished dressing and walked outside to the Nabi village. The village had undergone a transformation since the last time he was here Nivra noticed. They now had fortifications and traps around their village. Looks like they learned from us, Nivra thought somewhat impressed. He also noticed Nabi guards dressed in brown boar pelt with polished bone weapons. They seem much more vigilant and serious since last time I was here Nivra mused to himself as he walked to the center of the village.

In the center of the village was Rahu talking with a few other Nabi warriors “Remember to avoid contact with the outsiders passing through the forest, we only want to observe and make sure they don't find the village,” Rahu ordered as the other Nabi quickly walked away.

“What's that all about?” Nivra asked as he walked up to Rahu.

“A few weeks ago a large amount of people began to cross the forest in small groups. Unfortunately one of the groups attempted to attack us. Thankfully we outnumbered them, and with our defenses, we emerged victorious. Now we send scout parties out to intercept any hostile groups,” Rahu explained grimly.

“That must have been Tokanoba and Jasmine troops sneaking into our territory,” Nivra thought out loud.

“The group we we ran into said we would make good slaves before they attacked us,” Rahu said his face turning red with anger.

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“That sounds like you ran into a group of Jasmine soldiers, they are the only ones who would talk about taking slaves,” Nivra commented.

“We worry that more will come and next time we will not be able to resist,” Rahu said in dismay. Hearing what Rahu said Nivra pondered for a few moments before taking out an item from his pendant. The item was a small rectangular plate with the Atomo symbol etched into it. Below the symbol was Nivra’s name also etched into the plat.

“If your situation gets worse and you need to flee take this to the Beeajii clan to the south-east they will give you refuge,” Nivra said tossing the plate to Rahu.

“Thank you, without your help, we may have met a dead end,” Rahu said while taking the plate. As they chatted, Tuin and Rato arrived with supplies.

“Here are the supplies you requested,” Rato said handing Nivra a bag. Nivra took the bag and stored it into his pendant causing the Nabi to be surprised.

“Do you have any good quality weapons to spare?” Nivra asked as he remembered destroying his two artifacts.

“The best we have is the snake fang spear you left behind last time you were here,” Rato answered.

“That will work I suppose,” Nivra said still depressed over losing his artifacts. Rato quickly retrieved the spear for Nivra. The spear had a new carved shaft that was much better than the stick it used before. Taking the spear Nivra also stored it into his pendant.

“Can you store my supplies?” Tuin asked.

“No, there is not enough room my artifact has limited space,” Nivra explained.

“Then can you get me my own, it seems very convenient,” Tuin requested. Hearing Tuin’s request Nivra’s face twitched as he remembered how ignorant the Nabi were.

“This storage artifact could buy your village a hundred times over, its value is astronomical you need a high status as wealth is not enough,” Nivra explained. Tuin’s face dropped upon learning how difficult it was. “Don't worry if you continue to follow me one day you will get your hands on one,” Nivra boasted. Hearing that Tuin’s eyes lit up in anticipation. These people are almost like children with how naive they are, a few promises and they get all excited Nivra thought to himself as he let out a small chuckle.

“You two should be heading out before the sun begins to set,” Rato said interrupting their conversation. “Tuin make sure to listen to Nivra and don't cause problems,” Rato also commanded. Tuin nodded his head solemnly in response. Nivra and Tuin then left the village as Nivra took the route he used during his last visit.

A few days passed as they made their trek back to the Atomo territory when Tuin suddenly stop. “There are people coming!” Tuin hissed as he dived into some thick foliage. Nivra responded instantly by finding a hiding place in a tree. A few moments later a troop of Tokanoba soldiers came marching down the path. These soldiers were giving off strong nimora fluctuations and had high-quality arms and armor. They must just now be getting their elite troops into the Atomo territory Nivra thought as he analyzed the situation. The group of soldiers marched on without detecting them thanks to Tuin’s early response. After they had passed, they emerged from their hiding spots.

“That's impressive how you were able to detect them that far away,” Nivra complimented.

“I have always had keen senses, and they have only increased since you sent a teacher to train us,” Tuin explained. Nivra raised an eyebrow in surprise. These Nabi seem to have some talent it's only been a small amount of time since they started to train correctly. Nivra smiled to himself thinking he may have picked up a gem in the mud. Gaining a talented follower was always a thing to celebrate.

As they continued their journey, they were extremely cautious to not get caught by some soldiers. With Tuin’s help navigating the forest was much easier and with his senses avoiding the many soldiers was easy. They continued like this for a few days till Tuin stopped.

“We need to start heading south now,” Tuin said to Nivra. Nivra looked confused as the south was away from their destination.

“Why? That is the wrong way,” Nivra said.

“A few days ago someone disturbed the Emperor Wasps, the entire area for miles is a death zone,” Tuin explained. Hearing that Nivra’s face paled in fear. Who would be dumb enough to mess with those wasps? Nivra thought as he remembered his brief encounter with them. Insect beast were one of the absolute most terrifying beings to provoke.

“Causing an insect tide is a thing only a madman or a fool would do,” Nivra said shaking his head.

“Hopefully it was one of the invaders who triggered it,” Tuin said with a vicious glint in his eyes. Nivra simply smiled as he began walking south to circumnavigate the wasp tide. After spending a few extra days avoiding the wasps, they were nearly out of the forest. The number of soldiers was getting increasingly high as the smaller groups were joining up into bigger ones. Once they got out of the Coldcrown Nivra took the lead as Tuin had never been outside of the forest.

“Hold on for a moment, since we won't be able to hide in the woods anymore we will have to blend in to avoid suspicion,” Nivra said as he took out a rectangular metal plate. He channeled nimora into the plate and touched it to his forehead. Nivra eyes dulled to normal and slightly changed color. Tuin looked on in surprise realizing how little he knew about the outside world.

“Come here, it's more important for you to be disguised as you don't look like you come from the north with your darker coloration,” Nivra said as he placed the plate on Tuins forehead. Tuin’s dark hair turned blond and his eyes from brown to blue. “There, now you look more like a northerner,” he said putting the plate away. Tuin rubbed his hands over his face trying to feel a difference. Nivra laughed at Tuin acting childish.

“Is it permanent? I like the way I look,” Tuin said almost panicked. Nivra broke out into a fit of laughing seeing Tuin’s stricken expression.

“Don't worry it will fade naturally in a few hours,” Nivra explained. “Also it's only an illusion, so some powerful tappers will be able to see through it,” he further informed Tuin. Hearing that tuin gave a sigh of relief before speaking.

“How strong exactly would someone need to be to see through the disguise,” Tuin asked. Nivra pondered for a moment before answering.

“I would say around peak grandmaster and up would be able to see through it. Running into a grandmaster is highly unlikely as they do not usually mingle with common citizens,” Nivra explained.

“Ah, good that means we should not be discovered,” Tuin responded. Nivra nodded his head as he took the lead and began to head towards the Atomo capital. While traveling, they witnessed armies of Tokanoba and Jasmine marching through towns and cities. Most cities close to Coldcrown forest capsulated as the disorganized Atomo army had retreated east. Unlike when these armies attacked the capital they did not massacre the citizens. To avoid detection, they did not enter any large cities instead finding smaller villages.

As they got closer, they could see off in the distance a massive plum of ash rising into the sky. Seeing the plum Nivra stared in shock at its size and wondered how it got there. The duo pushed on through the rolling hills till they arrived on the outskirts of the city. Viewing the city from a distance, Nivra could see the massive hole in the wall. The Atomo banners were replaced with Tokanoba banners. Seeing all this Nivra felt like his body was submerged in ice.

“It really has fallen,” Nivra whispered to himself. His mind was in disarray with what to do next. He took a deep breath after awhile and calmed himself. “Let's go take a look at that plum of ash,” Nivra said as he turned and left the city behind. As they got closer to the plum, the temperature began to rise. They got closer till they could no longer advance due to the intense heat. They could see within the ash cloud raging multi-colored fires. This must have been caused by my father, Nivra thought upon seeing the flames. This must have been where he had his final battle with the tappers from Tokanoba. Nivra felt surprisingly little at learning his father was dead. He began to wonder if his brother had managed to escape.

“What deity did this,” Tuin said looking stunned at the miles of ash and fire. Hearing Tuin Nivra snapped out of his reverie.

“My father is probably responsible for this,” Nivra said causing Tuin to be dumbstruck. “We should head back to your village there is nothing here for us,” Nivra said in a desolate voice. Tuin seeing Nivra in such a foul mood decide to keep quiet as Nivra lead them back towards Coldcrown forest. As they traveled, Nivra began to think of his next move. Going to the Beeajii Clan would be safe but would simply be a cage where he would not impact any thing. With that idea thrown away another formed. Nivra decided to travel south away from the war.

I will go to Artisan city and form my own organization Nivra decided on his next course. He smiled as he now had a direction to go. It will be rough to start out I have limited funds and no followers he thought as he looked at Tuin. I can probably convince him to come with me, but he will have to learn to kill and be ruthless, Nivra continued his train of thought

“Tuin do you want to return to your village or follow me,” Nivra asked suddenly. Tuin looked at Nivra for a moment in surprise before pondering for a few minutes. Nivra stood quietly allowing Tuin to think in peace.

“I will follow you. I believe it will be of great help to me and my people in the long run,” Tuin responded resolutely. Hearing this Nivra smiled before continuing the journey.

“Let's go, to Artisan city!” Nivra said in high spirits as he and Tuin entered Coldcrown forest.