13 Tagisbol, 891 ED

Gitna, 03:82

Gorteau Plains, Empire of Tyrman

As I opened my eyes, the first thing I noticed was that I was standing knee-deep in some kind of water. It was so dark that I couldn’t even see my feet. The darkness stretched out to the horizons, too, so that I was only aware of the pond. Well, that, and the two wolves that walked atop the surface of the water, circling me. In spite of their size, the liquid seemed to support them.

I let out a long sigh. Others might be afraid or in awe of the mystical scene if it unfolded in front of them. But for me, the person who had created these two characters, it was unwelcome. A surprise, sure, but definitely an unwelcome one. I’d rather have a full, uninterrupted night of sleep than anything else.

“What do you two want now?” I asked, though my eyes focused on the black wolf. “You’ve already vowed to do your best to hurt me. Bringing me here does nothing.”

“I gifted you with my power,” Corruption said. His jaw, as usual, didn’t move to deliver the words. They came from a rumble deep inside his chest. “Yet you have not weakened.”

I glared at him. “Of course, I haven’t been weakened. I’m in the same power class as you. That means I can’t be corrupted unless I want to be.”

“I told him as much,” Chaos said, circling into view now. I could hear the humor in his voice as he spoke. “But he won’t listen. I must admit, I’m enjoying the trick so far.”

“What trick?” I asked. I was now sure that the black wolf was behind the trouble that had gotten me chased out of the Wild Mages camp. But I couldn’t be sure what it was, as there were no visual marks to showcase the Corruption. “He hasn’t actually given me any power, you know.”

“That is because he didn’t give you enough,” Chaos replied with a bark of laughter. “But that changes today.”

I felt something cold touch the tips of my fingers and jerked them away, then looked down. The liquid, which had only been up to my knees before, had now risen up to my hips. Rather, I’d sunk far enough.

“Knock that off,” I growled. “I’m trying to enjoy my time, and you’re pissing me off.”

“It is the only way to give you our power,” Chaos said. I sank an inch lower. “But do not fret. We have hidden the power away now so that other mortals will not notice. You shouldn’t experience trouble because of it again.”

“How kind of you,” I replied, my tone dry. “But I don’t want his power.”

“Would you like mine instead?”

I looked at Corruption quickly, having to turn my torso to see him clearly. “What do you mean?”

“I mean just that. If you’d like my power, you only have to say so.”

It couldn’t hurt, I thought. I was certain that he couldn’t possess me in any event, because at my core, I was more powerful than him. “Sure. Why not?”

I expected him to have some humorous quip, or at least to hear a dire warning. But none of that came. Instead, I sank under the surface of the water in an instant, my vision going dark. The dream ended just as abruptly as it had begun. The next thing I knew, I was sitting bolt upright in my bedding beside the campfire. I was on my feet and brandishing my sword before I knew it.

“Tuck? What the hell?” Gogo was awake and keeping watch, and my sudden movement startled her. She too leaped to her feet, drawing the spear off her back and looking around. “What is it?”

The sky was still dark above us, letting me know that it was the middle of the night still. Rather, it was edging toward down. One half of the sky was only slightly tinged with a pinkish light, the precursor of the suns that would soon appear. Something was making alarm bells ring in the back of my mind, and I turned on the spot trying to find it, but nothing seemed out of ordinary with the scene before my eyes. It was just adrenaline making me antsy, I told myself.

“Nothing,” I finally said, turning back to the concerned Beast-Kin before me. “Just a bad dream, that’s all.”

The concern faded from her face, quickly replaced with annoyance. She buried the point of her spear into the ground, then put one hand on her chest, letting out a sigh of relief. “Try not to give me a heart attack next time.”

“Sorry,” I said. As the adrenaline began to leave my system, I felt a little guilty, even though I knew it wasn’t my fault. “I’d prefer if those damn wolves left me alone too, come to think of it.”

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

At once, I realized that I’d said the last bit out loud, and cast a quick glance over to where Reiner, Anko, and Liber lay. They were still deep asleep, thankfully, and hadn’t heard me. Gogo sat down beside the fire with a rough movement and beckoned me closer to talk. “What wolves?”

I decided to snatch up a piece of toast from our evening meal before replying, slathering a bit of the cold stew over it. “Twice now, I’ve had a dream about Corruption and Chaos.”

I knew that she understood I was referring to the entities themselves, not the forces they commanded. I also felt comfortable sharing this with her, as she’d already assumed that I was an Ancient. It wasn’t out of place for such a being to speak of Chaos and Corruption.

Gogo’s eyes widened at the thought of it. “I can’t imagine that’s an easy thing to experience. Did either of them try to possess you?

The question confused me for a second until I remembered that even Ancients could be possessed if they weren’t careful. I shook my head to reassure her. “No, they didn’t. Corruption certainly tried, though.”

Gogo frowned deeply at that, looking out at the plains around as she tried to absorb the information. Then she suddenly gasped and spun around again. “That’s why the Wild Mages attacked you? You had a dream like that while we were in the camp. They could smell that corruption, and tried to attack you for it?”

I nodded. “That’s the best answer I have for it.”

I thought briefly about the “power” that they’d supposedly given me. Apparently, Corruption had already gifted me some. If that was indeed what the Wild Mages had sensed, then how come I couldn’t tell? I opened my character menu with a quick thought and scoured it from top to bottom. Maybe there would be a sign of it in my spell list. But alas, nothing.

“Now that you mention it,” Gogo said, sniffing the air, “I can smell a bit of Corruption now. I wouldn’t have been able to place it until you said that, because of the plains around us.”

“There is no Corruption around us,” I said. “Just Chaos. Grimr would have wiped it out if it were corrupted.”

She nodded her agreement on that point. Everyone knew of the Nature God’s hatred of Corruption. It had taken over and destroyed the previous Guardian of Nature, his brother, and nearly destroyed the balance between itself and Nature.

“It’s not strong enough that it should make me worry,” she continued. “But the scent of Chaos is also upon you. It is quite strong.”

“Chaos has a smell?” I asked, surprised. I hadn’t written something like that in.

“Of course it does. It is the same smell right before lightning strikes.”

Ah, so Chaos smelled like ozone, I thought. It was an appropriate scent. I lifted my left hand and flexed it experimentally as if lightning would crackle between my fingers. Nothing seemed different about the hand from before, so I put it back down, frowning thoughtfully.

“I wish I knew how to get rid of that Corruption,” I muttered. I knew how it was done, of course, but as it was, I didn’t have the necessary skills to transfer or destroy Corruption if I found it. I’d have to find a high-level druid to teach me those skills. Not even the Mages in Milagre possessed such knowledge. “Plus, a teacher to help me tap into Chaos would be useful.”

“So you intend to strengthen the chaos already within you?” Gogo asked, her eyes widening. “I mean, I know it will give you more power. But is that wise?”

“I don’t see a reason why not. Chaos isn’t viewed as negatively as Corruption. Especially in Milagre.”

“Do you see yourself staying in that city for a while?” Gogo asked. “I mean, I know that’s our next destination.”

“Maybe,” I said, knowing I sounded a bit evasive. “I thought I might spend some time at the College. I want to learn Spellblade techniques. It could prove useful.”

To my surprise, Gogo smirked as I said it. “I figured that was your eventual plan.”

“Sorry I didn’t come out with it right away,” I said. “To tell you the truth, I didn’t even really think of it until recently. I just picked Milagre as my next destination because it’s the city I know best.”

“Well, it works for many goals, then,” Gogo said.

I nodded, turning to reach for another piece of toast. Then something, perhaps her tone, caught my attention, and I hesitated. “Why do you want to go to Milagre, Gogo?”

I half-expected her not to reply, or else perhaps to give a roundabout explanation that would only leave me confused and forget why I asked it. Instead, she showed her teeth. “I fully intend to learn druidcraft. I want to learn woodshaping, beast whispering, all of it really.”

“But they don’t cover all of that in the Mage’s College,” I commented. “At least, not that I’m aware of.”

“Oh, you must not have heard,” she said. “I guess there is a limitation to your knowledge. But I suppose I can’t blame you if you haven’t been to Milagre in about half a year.”

“What do you mean?”

Gogo rose to her feet, brushing dirt from the knees of her breeches, and stretched. “They have a new teacher. She’s an honorary Master, appointed by the Prime Magus. She’s the first druid to ever consent to teach at the college. Rumor is she’s not just a druid, but also a chaos-wielding one. Quite powerful, considering how young she is.”

Something itched in the back of my head. That description made the woman sound familiar. But how could I be expected to think of it? Still, I was certain that I’d heard of them somehow, and recently. I’d just forgotten about it. “What’s her name?”

“Master Falynn Shaso.”

I let out a dull laugh at that, more out of surprise than anything else. I waved nonchalantly at Gogo’s questioning look and rose to my feet as well. Reiner and the others were waking around us, and I got to packing up my belongings, thinking. It was the first thing I’d seen or heard in Ahya that truly concerned me. Because Falynn was indeed a character I’d created. But it had been for a story that I was still writing, not one that I’d finished.

How could Falynn’s story have progressed to the point that she’d taken on the next step of her life? The last thing I remembered writing was her and her party sailing off to Nihon-Ja to chase after the mage that was their target. Just in case anyone reading this story wasn’t finished with that, I decided not to think about it further.

“Wait a moment,” I said, so low that only I could hear the words. “Did I just stop a spoiler from within a story?”