[Tutorial Alert: Your location – The Southern Endagon Caves – is currently under attack]
“Oh shit” Ryan muttered.
[What’s wrong?] Nessaiea’s eyes widen as she looked to them, then
“W-we just got an alert” Sierra said. “We’re under attack”
The old woman’s eyes narrowed and she raised her hand, checking a bracelet on her wrist. She frowned, then her eyes widened as colours shot across it in strange symbols.
[Your right!] she said. [Is this the record you speak of?]
“It’s just the screen thing. I don’t know, it might be” Sierra said.
[It doesn’t matter. We must take you to the surface quickly. Have you face the threat]
“What?!” they all cried in unison. Nessaiea’s eyes widened in surprise and she looked to them somewhat uncertain.
[I apologise. I thought- it’s... heavily implied the arbiters make you aware of your own nature regardless of whether your planet is newly awakened]
“Nature? What nature?” Ryan said.
“Fighting. She means chosen fight” Caleb mumbled.
It was obvious to him now. This place wasn’t a place of protection, it was supposed to prepare them to survive. It was a helping hand. A teacher. A tutor for the tutorial.
Shit.
“What? W-we can’t fight” Sierra said, just as panicked as Ryan.
“I don’t think we have a choice” Caleb grimly said looking to the faces of the other reverends. Ryan looked to them too his expression desperate.
“Well, what happens if we don’t fight?” Ryan said.
[Well… it would be dishonourable. You are ones, chosen; we cannot kill you. But we would have to release you out into the desert. Even as powerful as you are, you're only in the beginning stages of your divinity. You’d... likely not survive] the old woman said.
Sierra cursed loudly and Caleb’s heart sunk.
I guess I was told there was a risk of death.
“What the... shit. Dammit” Ryan cursed to himself. “What are we even fighting? Do we even get weapons?”
[Of course. We will help you, provide as much aid as we can]
“But we have to fight?” Caleb mumbled.
[Yes]
[I can’t] Kana said, shaking her head. The others all looked to her, their faces grim.
“Kana…”
They were interrupted by the doors flying open, and suddenly a cacophony of noise that they definitely should’ve been able to hear through the doors flooded the room, drowning out all sound. The woman who’d led the attack from earlier, and capture them strode in, her face a strange mixture of confidence and uncertainty.
She was followed by a few of the white silk soldiers, and stopped when she reached the foot of the table. The doors closed quickly, and the panicked chaos outside came to an abrupt stop.
[Avanessa, you cannot just enter the Seer room like that] Nessaiae said, her voice suddenly cold.
[I apologise Great Seer. But I have to inform you that we’re under attack. A horde of goblins. Larger than we’ve ever see] she said. He recognised the note of fear in her voice. She was afraid. Probably unsure the village would be able to fight them off. That didn’t make him feel any better.
[I’m aware.] Nessaiae said. [The chosen were notified by the arbiters]
The Lady Avanessa’s eyes widened, but she attempted to hide the surprise, and forced a frown, nodding.
[Then they’ll come with me. I’m right to believe they’ll join us on the battlefield?]
[W-well…]
“Yes” Caleb said, suddenly. The others all looked to him shocked.
“S-sorry” he mumbled. “But… we die if we don’t fight, right?”
Their faces all went grim, and Sierra cursed loudly again.
“Fine. Let’s fucking do this then. We don’t have a choice” Sierra said. Ryan cleared his throat and gulped loudly before nodding along. Kana, on the verge of tears now, still shook her head.
But the Lady ignored her, simply pointing to the other three.
[Come with me, quickly] she said.
[Milady, wait-] Nessaiae said.
[There’s no time] Avanaessa responded curtly, before turning on her heel. [Follow, quickly]
She barged through the doors, her silk soldiers following behind her as the sounds of chaos washed over them, more distant this time.
“Shit” Ryan cursed moving forward. Caleb clenched his fists tightly and followed him, glancing to Sierra.
Sierra was pleading with Kana who was shaking her head in tears. Then he was out the door surrounded by the chaos. He jogged quickly to catch up with Ryan and the Lady Avanessa as they made their way down the corridor, the faces of everyone grim.
[Only you two came? So be it] the Lady said glancing back at them. Her voice was tough, completely devoid of emotion. Just looking at her, the way she carried herself, Caleb could tell she was a fighter. [You two will fight with me and my men on the front lines.]
Shit
“We can fight for you but it’s probably best if we… stay closer to the back of all the fighting” he said.
“Yeah… were not exactly trained” Ryan added.
[It matters not. You’re ones. Young ones, but you have magic, I can sense it. You’ll fight on the front lines]
“No, we don’t have magic y-”
[Aunina. Reuputar, take them to the weapons room] she said interrupting him. [Get them two armbands each and sun shields. I’m joining the battle now]
“W-wait” Caleb cried out as she left without another word. “Miss lady!? We don’t have magic. Miss Lady Avanessa?!”
She disappeared around the corner and his heart sunk further.
[You two. This way] one of the silk soldiers said. They started walking even further down a corridor before stopping outside a heavy set metal door. One of the guards pressed his hand to the door and it clicked open, before he opened it.
The shelves were mostly bare, but it was clear from the style of the storage, the place usuall had a lot of weapons. One of the soldiers pulled out the leather armbands and handed them both two each, along with a carapace bracelet that glowed softly. Caleb held the armbands before glancing to Ryan who slipped one on, his face white as a sheet.
I shouldn’t have said anything dammit. I was too afraid and now I’ve screwed us both.
He bit his limp, his arms and legs shaking now, weak with fear. The lady clearly didn’t understand the stuff about the tutorial well enough, and it was backfiring on them. He gripped the armbands tightly, and squeezed his eyes shut, his head pounding with the rush of blood.
Ok. Ok. I caused this, I need to get us out of it. Or just Ryan, at the very least.
He looked up at the soldiers, then to Ryan whose hands trembled worse than his own
“Uh… I… my friend is ill!” Caleb said.
[What?] one of the soldiers said frowning.
“My friend here, Ryan. He’s ill” he repeated. “He can’t fight”
The soldiers glanced to each other then to Ryan who stared at Caleb dumbfounded.
[Is this true?]
“Y-yes” Ryan stuttered. “I’m ill. We’re both ill”
Crap. Don’t say that. It makes it less believable you idiot.
The silk soldiers glanced to each other again, clearly suspicious. But before they could say anything the girls sped into the hall, Sierra helping Kana along.
“We’re ok. You’ll be fine Kana. I’ll protect you”
[I don’t know. I can’t] the girl said shaking her head.
They reached the rest of them and Caleb dug his fingers into the surface of the fabric, his heart hammering harder. The excuse definitely wouldn’t work for all of them. But he didn’t know what else to do.
The soldiers handed armbands to Sierra and Kana. Sierra started pulling hers on, cursing like a sailor the entire time as Kana’s entire body shook.
[You two need to put your sleeves on. There’s no time] one of the soldiers said to him. Caleb looked to see that Ryan had given up, having already pulled on one armband and in the process of pulling on the other.
I guess they’ll know I’ll try to lie now. Shit.
He looked down to the armbands then shook his head. He wasn’t getting out of this. It’d be better to go with the others than to fight it tooth and nail and get himself kicked out. He begrudgingly pulled on the first armband and frowned feeling it’s weight on his arm in more than one way.
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As he secured it, the presence in his mind grew, reminding him of a similar sensation to when he’d overcome the mental distance. But now the sensation had a shape, like a sword. He looked over the armband, something shifting in him as he watched the flicker of golden light in the markings on the sleeve.
He pulled on the other, as similar sensation coming to him. This one’s shape was a shield. He pulled on it slightly and felt the weight shift, closer to the forefront of his mind. Almost to reality. He frowned as the sleeves glowed brighter, then the light faded as he let the weight fall to the back of his mind.
It’s quite easy actually. he thought. Almost intuitive. Less magical than I expected. It’s just... self-awareness. Like tensing a muscle.
[W-we… we don’t know how to use them] Kana muttered.
“Dammit Kana. We need to fight or they’ll kick us out” Sierra said curtly. “Get a grip”
Kana looked to her surprised, and then looked to the floor her face falling.
“S-sorry” Siera said, stepping forward. She took the gear from Kana and started helping her into it. She pulled on the last armband and the soldiers led them away, to a set of long stairs. As they climbed it grew slightly hotter.
The sounds of shouts and panic grew as they got closer to the surface, and Caleb noticed the fear in the expression of the guards. The others looked afraid too, moving stiffly and slow as they climbed. Kana still sniffled as they climbed, the sounds louder than anything.
“You’ll be fine Kana” Sierra said. “I’ll make sure”
“It’s ok Kana” Ryan said. “You’ll be ok”
“Yeah. We’ll all probably be fine” Caleb lied. Kana nodded looking to the others.
[I’m s-sorry]
“No, it’s fine. If you need to, just stay behind us. And if we… if things go south just run” Sierra whispered to her.
[No] Kana said, still sniffling. [We all stick together]
She looked to them with a new determination in her eyes and the others nodded in response. They settled into a strange silence, their nerves settled slightly by the strange show of companionship from Kana. They continued climbing, finally reaching the
[Your sunshields. Make sure you put them on]
Caleb nodded, pulling on the carapace bracelet. As it secured to the end of his sleeve he felt and saw a wave of golden energy wash over him, before disappearing. He frowned for a moment and waved his hand through the air slowly.
It felt different, his skin slightly cooler. The same happened for the others and the soldiers looked to them then nodded. They opened a set of doors and the group stepped into brightness and open air.
Caleb let his eyes adjust for a moment, his heart beating out of his chest as he tried to calm himself. When his eyes finally did he found himself in the middle of the town, one sun shining far above their heads. All the other buildings were boarded up, and glowing symbols covered all the buildings.
Nearby, a group of soldiers emerged from a set of doors and rushed towards the chaos, chanting wildly. The battle, still obscured by the buildings that surrounded them, sounded like nothing Caleb had ever heard.
What the hell is going on? Is it really just goblins? Was there some kind of translation error?
He wanted to stop, to ask more questions and plead to be kept away from whatever the hell was happening beyond the town walls. But he couldn't think of a way out of it with what he knew. He needed time, but he had none.
[Quickly] one of the silk soldiers said, guiding the group forward. They jogged together, Caleb’s hands shaking violently, his legs heavy like lead. He grit his teeth, somewhere in the back of his mind registering how cool the lack of heat was because of the sun shield, but the rest of it focused solely on the chaos that surrounded him.
They finally passed the last building and the four slowed as the two silk soldiers carried on.
In the flat plain of packed sand, a sea of small pale white creatures rushed forth from glowing blue portals that surrounded the village in a wide ring. They charged toward the comparatively tiny group of soldiers, unarmed yet unflinching.
The soldiers all stood in small groups between large tunnels of translucent golden light that surrounded the village forcing the crowd of goblins to group into smaller clumps and face each of the soldier squads.
But even with the large walls of golden light, it was clear blood spattered the floor all around, staining the sand. Piles of goblin bodies piled up, but a few people had fallen too, overwhelmed by the sheer amount of goblins.
The Lady fought the furthest outward, at the edge of the golden tunnels of magic, waving around a golden sword.
“What the fuck?” Sierra swore. One of the soldiers glanced back as the other hopped the wall, rushing toward the battle.
[Hurry. The Lady’s waiting for you]
They all remained still, then looked to each other. Sierra spoke first.
“D-do we go?”
“I think we have to” Caleb muttered.
“Yeah. I mean... if we didn't where would we even go? Place is surrounded” Ryan said.
[Let’s go. Stick together] Kana said.
Caleb nodded and together the group set forward. They hopped over the wall and then jogged slowly toward the battle. The soldiers shouted to those further forward and a few glanced behind, their eyes widening as they spotted the group.
“Shit” Sierra mumbled underneath her breath. Caleb’s hands shook more and he looked for something anything to distract him from the smell of iron in the air, and the cackling cacophony of goblins. His mind was drawn back to the strange presence and he started to play with the weight in his mind, feeling the shapes of the weapons in his armbands.
He pushed and pulled at it in a rhythm, in tandem with his breath as he tried to steady himself.
Then he gripped his hands tightly and pulled them both forward. He felt the shapes soar forward through his mind and into the rest of the world. In a hue of golden energy the sword and shield appeared in his hands weighted and sized perfectly.
The others all turned to him wide eyed.
“How did you do that?” Ryan said, somewhat surprised.
“Uh… just… pulled on the weight?”
“The weight? What weight?” Sierra said, dumbfounded.
“The weight of the armbands. Like in my head. I just focused on it and-”
There was another hue of golden yellow and a shield appeared in Kana’s hands.
[Oh. It’s simple] Kana said, surprised.
“Holy shit you two. It can’t be that easy?” Ryan said. He closed his eyes for a second and then in a golden hue the sword formed in his right hand, followed by the shield in his left. His eyes grew wide and he let out a surprised chuckle. They all looked to Sierra who stared at their weapons dumbfounded.
“Wait. Wait. Just- shit. I can’t just fucking- give me a sec. Let me-” there was a flash and a sword appeared in Sierra’s hands. She let out a sigh of relief, before the fear returned to her face and she looked to the rest of battle. The shield appeared in her left as she watched the soldiers backs, a few still looking to the group.
“Fuck” she mumbled “I guess we fight now?”
The others all nodded, the fear apparent even in their silence. Together, they started forward, tentatively stepping toward the group ahead of them. The soldiers cried out, cutting down the goblins as they charged forward, unimpeded by the near constant slaughter of their comrades.
The close quarters combat was just gruesome to watch.
“Don’t these people have bows?” Ryan muttered under his breath.
“You can throw your sword if you want” Sierra muttered. “Maybe that’ll be enough to get us out of it”
“Please don’t joke guys” Caleb muttered, sword rattling against his shield.
“S-sorry” Sierra mumbled.
Suddenly one of the soldiers looked back to them. His eyes widened and he turned to the others shouting.
[Make way! The ones are here! The deities are here!] he shouted. Others glanced back and the squadron cheered as he the group continued forward. Caleb felt his legs grow heavy as the group slowed almost to a stop under the weight of the new expectations from the others.
The soldiers toward the back looked to each other confused and then the Lady emerged from the crowd, both her and her sword covered in blood. She pointed it at them, her gaze hard.
[You’re late. Come fight. Now!] she shouted at them.
The group stayed still eyes wide as they stared at Avanessa’s sword. The lady stepped forward and the group stepped back, Sierra nudging Kana slightly behind her.
[These pests are here because of you! Do it or I’ll invoke the Reindaag and remove you from my home now!]
They all looked to each other the fear written across their faces shared.
“I don’t wanna die” Ryan mumbled. Caleb nodded. He didn’t either. It was a strange feeling, knowing now how close death was to him. He’d been trying to distance himself from it, but he couldn’t right now. He didn’t want to die. He doubted anybody ever really did.
But even if he survived now, he’d still die in the next few months. That wasn’t true for the others though. If they made it out of this, they could live long full lives. He could help them, put his own life on the line to make sure they didn’t die.
If it gets me killed, well… that’d be pretty bad actually. I probably shouldn't think about that.
“I’ll take lead” Caleb said. “Come on. Let’s go”
The others looked to him then nodded as he made his way forward, following behind. He looked to the Lady Avanessa then nodded. She nodded back then turned marching forward with her sword.
[Make way!] she shouted.
“Put your shields up and stay close” Caleb said to everyone. The others nodded raising their shields and together they made their way forwards, toward the battle. Caleb’s heart beat hard, and his hand shook the sword rattling slightly against the edge of the shield. The shouts felt too real now, their cries overly close and the smell of iron thick now.
They bunched together closer following behind Avanessa, as they stepped past a few of the furthest back soldiers, these ones with large spears. Then they were on the front lines. Avanessa cut through a few goblins with twin swords, one a half-glowing gold and the other normal steel.
She cut through them with ease, the art of dual wielding in full effect. But a goblin slipped directly past rushing toward Caleb. Its eyes were wide, it’s teeth and claws sharp. And its screech echoed in his head as time seemed to slow down. His eyes went wide and with a panicked cry he stepped forward. The goblin slammed against the shield and crashed to the floor.
It remained still for a second as he stared at it, then a sword shot out from beside him and stabbed into it, cutting through naked flesh easily. Caleb looked to Ryan who stood wide eyed, his sword stabbed through the goblin’s chest.
“Caleb!” Sierra shouted. He looked back to see two more goblins rush forward. He stepped back slightly as they pounced on him, one biting into his shield and the other into his shoulder. He cried out and stabbed through its side with his sword, pushing the other away as he struggled to scramble upwards. The goblin rasped releasing him, but still reached to claw at him. Then it was gone, kicked away by Sierra.
He scrambled to his feet as the others looked to him surprised. He glanced at his shoulder, but the wound was only skin deep. The sun shield helped blocked more than just the sun’s heat.
[You okay?] Kana asked. He nodded, then looked back to the goblins still rushing Lady Avanessa and all the other soldiers. He looked beyond to the endless horde of goblins charging toward the village.
“Let’s… let’s focus” he mumbled. The others nodded, all raising their weapons as a few more goblins struggled past. Caleb swallowed hard, then pushed forward his shield again knocking one into another before swinging his sword downward. Neither of the goblins got up.
Caleb stared at the blood and the bodies, unable to look away from the horror. He glanced at the sword, then cried out as another goblin jumped at him. Sierra cut it down with a wild swing, then stepped next to him sword raised. Kana and Ryan followed suit as the group formed a reverse V.
Suddenly there was a shout of panic as a bunch of soldiers cried out in the walled section next to them were suddenly overrun by goblins. Individually they were weak, but in a horde they were overwhelming, the line collapsing quickly. He glanced to them and then back to the Lady Avanessa in front of him.
She cut down a few more goblins then raised her sword and turned to the others.
[I’ll go to help them! Keep fighting! You have the ones to support you here!] she shouted.
“What?! N-no we can’t-” Caleb cried, but she was gone, and the horde was charging them regardless of his protests. He wouldn’t be able to bat away that many goblins with his shield. Silently he swore to himself, then roared and stepped forward with a large swing, bringing his arm across as hard as he could.
For a moment his blade just met air, then he felt the sword meet resistance, it's path slowed as it cut through flesh and crunched against bone.
His sword came to a stop as it slammed against Ryan’s shield and blood sprayed onto his face. He stumbled back for a sec and the others swung wildly cutting down more goblins before he rejoined the fray. Together they swung together wildly, cutting down the cackling goblins as they continued to rush toward them.
His heart beat hard and ringing echoed in his ears as his breaths grew shorter and shorter. The chaos began to consume him, his mind only echoing the cackling of the goblins, and the impact of his sword. The terrible sensation, the slickness of the blood, the burning of the small scratches on his arm, and the smell of iron around him, it all felt distant.
For the first time in his life, he was actively killing things. To protect him, his mind was forced to create distance between itself and reality.
It was strange. He felt like a puppet, pushed forwards only by his will to live. His will to fight.
He pushed further forwards, his slashes growing wilder, faster as he cut the cackling of goblins in front of him short. His shouts of desperation grew louder, a maniacal fury filling his voice as he pressed forward even further.
The conscious part of him watched as the goblins began to slow, fear tinging their faces as whatever spell that'd bound them, convincing them to charge to near certain faded. He cut them down anyway, the fury made of fear impossible to simply reign in. And so he kept swinging, and swinging, his mind getting further and further from the fight. He felt like a monster.
Then he swung his sword again and it cut through thin air. And just like that the distance was broken. He breathed heavily, suddenly intimately aware of the sensations that'd been kept from him. His hands shook violently, and his heart. But even though he was back, only one thought remained at the front of his mind.
The goblins.
He scrambled backwards, and raised his sword. But it wasn't necessary. The goblins had stopped coming, having all turned tail and run back to the now fading portals. Caleb breathed heavily, wheezing before falling to the ground. Instead of dry sand he sat against wet, warm flesh and gasped.
He stood quickly, looking away. But the smell of iron was still clear. And even as everyone cheered, the sound of Ryan and Sierra’s defeated breaths and Kana’s sobs were clear to him.