~The Story So Far~
Alex’s life was boring, and then he died. When he woke, he met with a goddess who offered him a chance at a new life in a wonderous world of magic and fantasy, complete with all the game mechanics and interfaces he had grown to love in his video games. In this new world he has taken a new name, Xavier Ardynvael, and he has found a companion in Ella Bree, an enigmatic woman who holds a mystery.
Xavier also founded a new settlement, Rynthavael, with around fifty villagers calling him Lord. The village is growing rapidly, and buildings are going up daily. His people embraced a fresh start of their own after the town of Bramblegate, their prior home, had been destroyed by raiders. Xavier went on to rescue one of the children and, in doing so, awakened two of the ley lines that made up the nexus beneath the settlement.
He has delved into dungeons and completed quests but in all honesty, was all just starting. That was until his latest adventure led to him being taken captive and carted off to the animari settlement of Verdantspire Haven. There the elders charged him with a quest to assist in freeing some recently captured members of that community. Teamed up with the beastmaster Lianna and her twin brother the assassin Liosan they tracked down the raiders holding the captives and attacked. The fight was brutal and quick but unfortunately, for Xavier at least, it ended with a sword through his heart and darkness taking over his senses.
~Currently~
Xavier slowly opened his eyes. He was sitting face down on a hard wooden table. Groaning slightly, he sat up, his eyes squeezing closed again at the wave of dizziness that swept through him.
“What happened,” he managed to croak out.
A voice cut through the silence like the soft hum of a thread being pulled taut, its sound resonated within him as much as it did in the space around him, feeling both impossibly ancient and unnervingly intimate. The words carried the weight of millennia yet were spoken with the clarity of a whisper meant only for his ears. Each syllable reverberated through his chest, gentle yet commanding, as if the fabric of the universe shifted subtly with every word spoken. The tone held no malice or warmth, only the calm certainty of inevitability, making him acutely aware that every moment in the speakers’ presence was a thread they had chosen to weave. It was also a voice that he knew well, it was the voice of Danu.
“You died,” she said simply. “You died and discovered an aspect of my blessing that I did not think you would for a while. The fates weave an interesting and ever-changing pattern around you Alex.”
Xavier opened his eyes in a panic. He was dead. Again? Already? Despair lit his features as he realized he had accomplished so little in his second chance at life. There was still so much to see in Arath, so much to do.
“Be at peace Alex,” Danu’s voice was soft and comforting. She placed a hand on his and as when he met her here before warmth and reassurance flooded through his body driving away the panic. “You bear my blessings remember, part of that is marking you as a Kael’Sharyn, a fractured echo.” She laughed melodically as he winced at her words. “It is not as bad as it sounds. You will revive, in fact, you will revive any time you die. However, the mortal mind was not meant to undergo such trauma. Each time you return from beyond the veil you run the risk of shattering your psyche. When that happens, you will be vulnerable to a final death.”
Xavier stared across the table; the goddess was just as he remembered her. Her features were perfectly symmetrical giving her an otherworldly beauty. Smooth alabaster skin was framed by long flowing vermillion ringlets which only provided a greater contrast to her eyes. They seemed to change depending on her mood and now they were bottomless voids bespeckled with pinpoints of light. A soft smile lingered on her delicate lips as she finished speaking.
Xavier’s breath caught in his chest once more at the sight. It was what distracted him so when he died on Earth, and it still had the same effect on him now. The beauty leaned forward across the table, her hand lifting from his to delicately touch his chest, right over where his heart lay. He could feel the beat of it surge to life once again and a warmth spread over his skin where her fingers lingered.
As Danu sat back in her seat, Xavier looked down and realized he was dressed as he had been when going to attack the raiders with the animari twins. His leathers were cleanly cut through, however. The skin of his chest was exposed to the cool air of the cabin. Where her fingers had brushed was a new mark. It looked like a rock had struck a glass window. At its center was a jagged core, a focal point where the fatal strike occurred. The core appeared like a shimmering, opalescent well as if he were peering into a fragment of another realm. From the core, lines branched out in sharp, jagged patterns, like cracks on shattered glass only emphasizing the window similarity. These lines were asymmetrical, giving the appearance of something broken yet beautiful.
He looked back up to Danu, she smiled at him once more as the room faded from view.
The next thing Xavier felt was a full body ache with pain focused on his chest. Two female voices were shouting at one another adding to the discomfort of an already raging headache. He tried to sit up but found he was being held tightly. The voices stopped with gasps at his movement and groans.
Slowly he came to realize he was lying in someone’s lap, his head and shoulders propped in their arms and clutched tightly to a soft chest. Opening his eyes and blinking at the harsh torchlight he looked to see who held him. A tear-streaked but joyous face looked back at him, Ella’s face. She hugged him tightly once more. Beyond the familiar features of his companion, he saw the white and black furred faces of the iskari, snow leopard animari, twins Liosan and Lianna. After a moment he realized it had been Ella and Lianna arguing. That caused him to realize briefly that he had never actually heard Liosan speak.
Once more he tried to sit up, this time Ella relinquished her grip on him though she kept a hand on his back in case he should collapse. Pain flooded through his body and he noticed that the bar in his interface that showed his health was dangerously low and flashing. Ella handed him a handful of forest sage and he slowly chewed the earthy herb the pain fading over time as the plant took effect.
“How?” Lianna whispered. “You were dead, I saw the raider run you through and then the wound afterward. There is no way you could have survived that.” Her voice trembled though Xavier wasn’t sure if it was in awe or fear.
Xavier hesitated before answering, as he did so he looked around slowly realizing that they were still in the raider camp. He could hear the cries of the captives in the distance along with the crackle of the fire. The air was thick with the coppery tang of blood mixed with the stench of offal and viscera. The horrid stench that lingered after combat. Finally, he looked down at himself, his clothes and armor were soaked in blood. The rent in his cuirass and tunic matched what he had seen in the otherworldly cabin. On his skin, just as he had seen after Danu had touched him lingered the mark.
Everyone’s gaze followed his and Ella gasped. “A Kael’Sharyn?”
“That is impossible,” snapped Lianna, “they are myths. No one can come back from the dead. Even the highest of clerics cannot perform miracles like that.” She glared at Ella again. “I do not know where you came from, but you speak falsely again.”
Ella glared right back at the beastmaster. “As I told you before, I am his. My bond with him will always tell me where he is.” She turned and lifted a hand to her hair, pulling it back to expose the tattoo-like mark that sat behind her ear.
Xavier held up a hand to forestall the impending renewed yelling. He was thankful it was just the handful of them and not the captives as well.
“No,” his voice was soft, intending to keep his words only to the ones present. He knew the captives were all animari but didn’t know if their hearing was as keen as their bestial counterparts. “I met with Danu; she called me the same thing. Said it was part of the blessing she had placed upon me.” He looked to Ella, “I told you about her before.”
Once more Lianna’s mouth snapped shut, her eyes now held a mix of fear and wonder as she looked on the strange human. Part of her wanted to strike him down, humans could not be trusted. Another part of her wanted to learn more about this stranger who claimed to be god touched, had possibly befriended a shadowmane, and spoke of a village where races mingled freely. She looked to Liosan, and her brother just shrugged before turning around and walking away, likely to go check on the prisoners.
Looking at the two women Xavier put voice to his thoughts. “What happened? How long was I…” he hesitated still not quite able to accept he had died again, “away? How did you get here?” The last question was focused on Ella.
Lianna was the first to respond. “Lio and I were able to kill the raider leader, the one who ran you through, shortly after he cut you down. The fight only ended a few minutes ago. When it did, I came to check on you fearing the worst was true, and found her here holding your body. You were not breathing or moving, and she was crying over you.” She pointed at Ella as she spoke. “She came out of nowhere.”
“I told you I felt his need and came to him. I cannot explain it any clearer than that.” Ella retorted.
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Lianna looked like she was going to say something more, but Xavier intervened. “I know Ella, she has been with me for a while now. I saved her from an attack several weeks back.”
Lianna looked between the two of them. “She was in Bramblegate? No, I remember now you said she was with you when you went to Bramblegate, and when you found the shadowmane.” She studied Ella a little closer, but the woman just seemed to be another human. “Alright, I still have questions on how you found us but if you are bonded it does give credence to your words.” She sheathed the dagger that Xavier had only now realized she was still holding. “I am going to go search for the cage keys, that is if Lio has not already opened the lock.” With those words she turned as her brother had and disappeared around the corner of the large tent.
Left alone with Ella, Xavier studied her quietly. “How did you get here? You were miles away when last I saw you. Still weak from what you did with the ley line.”
She met Xavier’s eyes and smiled her own emerald orbs nearly glowing with relief that he was alright. “We are bonded remember. As long as you carry my blade I will know where you are.” A slightly impish smile touched her lips as she spoke the next words whispered softly so as to only reach his ears. “I am Vaeltheris”
That bombshell of a statement rendered Xavier speechless. His hand reaching for where the blade normally was sheathed at his side, he looked down at the empty scabbards before he remembered his swords had been in his hands during the fight. Ella picked the pair up from beside her and placed them in his lap. He picked up the named weapon and inspected it. The prompt hadn’t changed again to confirm her statement but as he studied it he could feel a change to the blade. Her revealing that deep truth gave him a greater feel for the blade, and he could sense the connection to her.
“How is that possible? You said it saved you. I don’t understand how it can…” He began and she cut him off by placing a finger to his lips.
“Secrets for now, the camp has ears, my master.” She leaned closer to whisper into his ear. “When we are alone, I promise the full truth. You know the most important parts already.”
Xavier nodded slowly, his world had been shattered and rebuilt by a second death, and now what he thought he knew about Ella was undergoing the same. What else did he not know about those closest to him? Was he going to find out his mastery of Rynthavael and the Syr’Vailen was a lie next? He looked to his forearm and the mark that signified him as the Ard’Maelor, the Sovereign of the Forge, the title Aelriva bestowed upon him when he claimed his domain slowly appeared on his skin. He let it fade once more and looked at the mark on his chest, oddly unlike his other mark it did not vanish.
With Ella’s aid, he got to his feet and sheathed his two swords. Then he took a moment to really look at her. She had been unconscious and unwell when he last saw her. Now a part of him expected her appearance to change knowing what he did now about her connection to the sword. She still appeared to be a young human woman however and he knew he needed to hear her answers soon.
She had a striking appearance with an athletic build. Her complexion was fair with a warm undertone, and just a hint of freckles dusted across her cheeks. This still gave her a youthful, lively quality to her look. Her face retained the gentle, heart-shaped structure, with high cheekbones, a delicate nose, and full, softly defined lips he remembered from first seeing her. Her exquisite jade eyes flashed with a rare and vibrant radiant sparkle when she smiled back at him, which still felt earthy and enchanting. He noticed they somehow held an ancient presence though, that he attributed to her true nature. Her brunette hair, rich in dark brown tones with subtle highlights cascaded just past her shoulders. Once again, she was clad in rough cloth garb under soft supple leather armor.
“Come on then I suppose. Now that you’re here we can see to finishing this quest I was given.” He said as he turned to follow the path Lianna had taken. “I’m glad you’re here though.” He said glancing back over his shoulder at her. “Things just didn’t quite feel right without you nearby.”
She merely smiled back at him and moved to follow his lead. He moved quickly his mind racing as he considered the possibility that he was developing feelings for her. He didn’t deny she was beautiful, and had she just been a normal woman he would have been thrilled to have her attention the way he did. Now though, he was torn, was it possible to love a sword? Was she actually the sword? Or was she something different? Gods that rabbit hole was deep when he started to head down it. He forcefully shut off that path of thought and refocused on the task at hand.
Joining Lianna, he and Ella both started to search the bodies of the dead. Xavier went straight to the corpse of the man who had killed him and after kicking it once in insolent anger he knelt and began to search through his pouches. Sighing as he did so he realized that yet again he had forgotten to use his insight during the fight. Granted he had not had even an option to with this asshole, but he could have with the rest of them.
While he was searching, he noticed that the icon on the right side of his UI was flashing indicating he had notifications. He consciously decided to review them later tonight while they were traveling or resting and keep his focus on setting the captives free.
It was a small pouch that hung around the neck of the raider leader where he found a key. Rising with a call to the others he ran over towards the cage wagons. Liosan was standing there with a pair of picks in hand about to test the lock when Xavier arrived. The assassin moved out of his way and he put the key in the hole of the lock and twisted it. A small snick sounded, and the lock fell away easily. Xavier grinned at Liosan and handed the key to Ella to unlock the other cages.
Soon a couple of dozen animari gathered around the party, from what Xavier could see it was a blend of many different types. All of them were calling out their thanks and appreciation for saving them. As one of them, a small foxlike vulpiri boy, forward from where he had been comforting a young cervari girl with coloring like a fawn, to offer his thanks Xavier noticed the odd collar around his neck. Looking at the other captives he noticed that they all wore the metal band.
“Lianna? Can you tell me anything about these collars?” He called out, several moments later she was standing at his side and lifting the boy’s chin.
“Ice and shadow damn them!” She cursed seeing the collar. “Suppression collars, at least they are not the full slave collars, they are nigh unto impossible to remove. Raiders and slavers use these to keep captives docile while they are transported to markets and pens. Search the tents the key rune must be here somewhere otherwise; they would not have been able to open the collars to place them.”
One of the older captives, an ursari from the looks, his large frame hunched with age but still bearing a dignified mien spoke up. “That one there,” he pointed to where the mage lay dead from Liosan’s attack, “She was the one who placed the collars on us.”
Xavier nodded and quickly moved over to the corpse and began searching it as well. At the dead woman’s waist, he found a small key. Pocketing it he continued searching but didn’t find anything resembling a rune as Lianna had mentioned. He continued probing her body, though he had to pause noticing another more ornate collar wrapped around her throat. Taking a gamble, he rose and went to the large tent that he and the leader had come from.
Inside was dim, too dim to really see by and he scowled. Ducking back through the flap he called for someone to bring him some sort of light. Soon Ella strode up and passed him a warmly glowing torch. Ducking back inside he was able to make out three different cots, each one had a small table and other clutter around them. Under the second one, he found what he was looking for. A medium-sized chest with a small lock on it. The key fit into the lock and as he lifted the top he grimaced. Inside were dozens more collars. It was clear this group was ready to take as many captives as they could get their hands on. A small pouch was mixed in with the rings of metal, unlacing its top he poured a palm sized disk of dark stone into his hand. Both sides of the disk were etched with a single sigil that glowed with a faint light. Xavier focused on the mark expecting his skill in rune deciphering to trigger but nothing happened. Instead, he received a new prompt.
You have discovered: Dark Stone Sigil Disk
Item Class: Rare
Item Quality: Well Crafted
Weight: 0.3 kg
Durability: 60/100
Description: A palm-sized disk made of a smooth, black stone that absorbs light, giving it an eerie matte finish. An intricate glowing purple sigil is etched onto its surfaces. The disk emanates a faint hum of suppressed power, its magic specifically attuned to unlock suppression collars and similar magical bindings.
Traits: - Suppression Unlocker: When activated, the disk emits a pulse of dark energy that disables suppression collars, breaking their magical seals.
- Activation: Requires a specific magical or spoken command to activate the sigil, ensuring only authorized users can utilize it.
- Limited Uses: Contains enough energy for up to 5 suppression collar deactivations before needing to be recharged.
“Of course, it couldn’t be easy.” Xavier groaned seeing the need for an activation command. “Why can’t it ever just be a simple thing to rescue a bunch of captured people and make their lives easier.” He pursed his lips. Well, he guessed that was an oddly specific complaint but still, it could be easier.
Heading back outside with the disk he rejoined the gathering of semi-freed captives where they huddled around the rest of his party. He held up the disk. “I found the key, but it needs an activation to make it work.”
The same elderly ursari as before spoke up once again. “Keltrak’s Promise”
Xavier felt the stone in his fingers warm significantly, to the point he almost dropped it. Carefully he moved it closer to the young cervari, and the ring about her neck parted as if bisected on an unseen hinge. It fell to the ground and snapped shut once more. The young girl started crying again in relief and darted back towards the duo who were obviously her parents. Xavier freed four more of the children repeating the same phrase as the ursari had.
“That’s all the charges it had. Unless you know a way to recharge it, I think we have to wait.” Xavier handed the disk to Lianna. “You should hold it. We can give it to the elders when we get back to Verdantspire.”
Lianna tucked the disk into one of her pouches. “Let us get everything loaded up into the wagons it can all be taken back to help give these people a fresh start.” She pointed to the cage wagons “We should break those, however.”
Soon everyone was stripping the dead of weapons, armor, and items. The raider's possessions, along with their tents and other supplies were quickly loaded into the waiting wagons. With all the hands they had to help it didn’t take long for the work to be done. Xavier pointed out the collar on the mage’s neck indicating to Lianna they should probably take it as well but noting he didn’t have a way to unlock it. Her grimace spoke volumes to him about the item itself, but she didn’t disagree with him. Liosan had found where the horses and mules had been hobbled for the night and soon the wagons were hitched.
While they were destroying the cage wagons Lianna approached Xavier and held out the mage’s collar. As he took it, he could still see where small smears of blood remained on the metal. He looked at the iskari woman for a moment then decided he really didn’t want to know how she had removed the item. He tucked it into his pouch to inspect later, and soon the much larger group was moving back out of the little valley and onto the dirt road that would ultimately lead them back to Verdantspire Haven.