This one is the largest chap so far at 4000 words :D. (I type very slowly to that's quite the achievement)
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We were waiting in line to be checked through the guard post that handled ingoing and outgoing traffic to the capitol through the east. It looked like they were requesting some sort of ‘tax’ to gain free entry out of the city. Well a fee at the customs office is a seemingly normal thing in this country.
“Next”
A man adorned with worn, but well maintained, iron armour called out. It looked like it was our turn. We headed towards the guard post and waited for the disinterested guard to allow us free passage.
“Reason?” The guard mechanically questioned.
“We are traveling to relatives who live in the Far East.” I answered in a similarly apathetic tone.
“That will be 2 silver per person and 50 copper for the kid.” The guard said uninterestedly.
Vinoessa paid for all of us and we continued out of the city. We passed through the firm bulwarks that served as the primary layer of defence for the city. On closer inspection the wall was enchanted with varying degrees of defensive magic and was composed of, what looked to be, granite.
Upon leaving the city walls we saw vast agricultural operations in all directions. Fields were ploughed and were being tended to by denizens of the sprawling metropolis behind us. Beyond the fields lay, what seemed to be, a dense forest tapering off into a colossal mountain range that covered the horizon line in its entirety . This looks to be an easily defendable position in event of an invasion as the tall mountains act as a geological citadel against any would be attackers.
It was high noon and the sun, or well suns, were clearly visible.[1] This planet looked to be a member of a binary star system. This led to the fantastical view of two suns being suspended high in the skies. This fact led to a very different time system to the one I was used to. From what I can get from my stolen knowledge the time system of this nation has no quantifiable values and uses the positions of the two suns, in relation to each other, to dictate a number of hazy ranges of time. The closest representation I could think of was using Morning, noon, afternoon, evening, night and midnight as a measurement of time. There is no clear value for time just a sense of the time of day.
I turned to Vinoessa and asked “How is time measured in the demon continent?”
Vinoessa turned her head as we encroached upon the main road heading east. “The demons use a denary time system. 100 seconds in a minute; 100 minutes in an hour; 10 hours in a day; 100 days in a month and 4 months in a year .” Vinoessa explained understandingly but with an undertone of having won some sort of battle.
“Thanks for the explanation” I thanked.
Able looked at me and asked “You didn’t know?”
“Well, all that I can say is that I am not from around here.” I answered.
“Well each race has their own ways of measuring time and it would be a nightmare to try to remember all the ways time is recorded” Able said.
We continued our conversations as we left towards the demon capitol. Time seemed to pass very fast as day turned to night. We arrived at the outreaches of the forest as the sun was setting. All our supplies had been stored in a small pocket-dimension bound to a ring as a keystone, courtesy of Vinoessa, who said they were common practice in the demon continent. Able was strangely quiet upon learning that we were using [Spatial Rings] to transport goods but complied with putting the large amount of luggage we were carrying before into the ring. [Spatial Rings] are apparently rather common in the demon continent as a common spell formation makes them easy to mass produce. This was the same case in my old world.
I asked Vinoessa “How far?”
“How far to what? The Demon Capitol? A couple of months walk.” Vinoessa retorted.
“No… to the teleportation gate?” I replied calmly.
I had sensed it as we had begun to approach the forest. I could only sense its orientation to us and not its direct position. This was because the forest itself was covered in naturally occurring mana blanketing out the weak mana signature left by the spell. At first I was surprised the Demons had the technology to set up such a spell but looking at the strength of the residual formation it looks to be old; Very old. 4000 -5000 years old. The formation that was used looked to be built to last.
[Well I’m not surprised by anything anymore. {┗(--)┛}] Vinoessa telepathically quipped.
Able had a complicated expression but decided to remain quiet.
[That is a top grade military secret! I don’t even know where it is. {¯\_(ツ)_/¯} All that I know about a teleportation gate is that there are a few scattered across the continents and that they are mostly dysfunctional. We have attempted to repair some but due to a lack of understanding of how they function, and a worry of if they were to break, we don’t use them for the most part.{ （´＿｀）}]
“Very well let’s set up camp here tonight and head out tomorrow!” I suggested.
Novae and Able both gave me a strange look but never interjected.
---------------------------------------------------------POV Able----------------------------------------------------------------
Teleportation gate! How is Vacare a where of such constructs? I thought he was only highly powerful. I guess he is a high ranking member of the humans. Even I know little of them and have only seen them a few times given my former status. For that matter the trust I have heled in Him has come from his actions up until now and me being confident as a good judge of character. Though Vacare is like trying to read a wall of stone; he seems to be good at heart.
Vacare’s expression slightly twitched as a light of understanding flooded his eyes. Looking at everything that Vionessa has done so far I suspect she is a high ranking demon given her use of covert operations magic’s that are exclusive to the Demon high command.[2] This only furthers my suspicions that she is far more then she looks. Though It is hard to say…
---------------------------------------------------POV Vacare------------------------------------------------------------------
We set up camp in the outer reaches of the forest. I could see nothing but fields for miles to our left and a dense verdurous forest to our right. We were at the precipice between the two. Not far enough into the forest to be bothered by bandits or beasts of any kind but enough to not be spotted by travellers or guardsmen coming from the capitol. I set a number of barrier formations around the camp to block any would be intruders.
The trees were lit in feint murky indigo hues by a camp fire we had set up earlier. Beyond the reach of the camp fire azure twilight bathed the unclear and distant forest floor. The sky was covered in a mass of stars varying in intensity and colour as the colossal celestial bodies that acted as satellites to this planet staked their claim to the vast majority of the sky. There was very little ambient sound. The odd distant cry of a monster or crackle of the campfire acted as a riposte to otherwise absolute silence of the forest.
Everyone else was well asleep. Well nearly everyone.
“Able” I said as mutedly as possible.
Silence remained for a very long time. After an indiscernible amount of time had passed a feint voice replied.
“Yes?”
“There are three types of ways people choose to live in this world. People may rapidly change how they choose to live and incorporate aspects of the other two into their current living state.
There are those who are denizens of the past. They look back on all that has been then make decisions based off them. They are ones to learn from, and dwell on, the past.
There are those who live in the moment. Mostly uncaring for what is yet to come and what has gone by. They take things as they come and deal with things when they arrive. They will learn from past mistakes but will not dwell upon them.
There are finally those who choose to live for the future. They work hard towards dreams or future prospects. They base current actions for a more desirable future for themselves and others.
These are not absolute and a person may use one state to motivate another state. “I said faintly.
“Look I can see where you are going with this. I am still grateful to you as being my benefactor but how I choose to live is of my own volition.” She quipped.
“Well In all honestly I care not for who you once were or what occurred to you in the past. Nor am I particularly caring for how you choose to live now. Heck, I don’t care for things of sentimentality in general. Or at least I have not for a long time now. But I worry for you. You live dangerously in the past; to the point where your future is being affected.” I said sombrely.
“So?” She exclaimed while deeply quivering.
“Not just yours but novae’s. I hate those who see destiny as an absolute but that does not mean I am uncaring for things that have yet to occur. I don’t know what has happened to you but I can see where it is leading you all so clearly” I replied in a deeper state of melancholy.
“How could you even begin to understand my plight? Hundreds… if not thousands maybe even tens of…th- thouthands… no… everyone gone …. gone” She cried as she began to break down into tears.
“I must apologise if I sound uncaring but deluding others and in particular deluding yourself to such matters is …”
“SHUT UP!” She howled as the entire forest reverberated with this heart rending cry. The once carefully balanced noise of the forest collapsed into a cacophony of aggravated monster cries. She broke down into tears as an inexorable grief exuded from every part of her being.
“Look, don’t drag Novae down with you. I don’t know who you once were or what happened to your spouse but it is retroactively destroying your current life and maybe even you and your daughter’s future. I’m not asking for much. Just don’t let it affect your current way of life.”
-------------------------------------------------------POV Able--------------------------------------------------------
...[3]
Just what the hell does he know? I have only just met him and he thinks he can barge in on a person like me and expect me to change? Just what sort of moron is he? STUPID. BROKEN. PUPPET.
…
No…
…
…
My hate is misguided.
…
…
His intensions are well mannered but he sure knows how to throw a person already covered in cuts into a pool of boiling brine. Why did he take his damn dagger and attempt to lunge for my deepest wound. Does he not know that what I am doing is to stop something like that from ever occurring again?
He sees me to be deluded?
Am I?
Why do I even care for his point of view?
Is it because I blindly trust in him?
Or he is so similar to him?
I guess I have been misguided. Novae is his final legacy. I should not let my own personal woes impact upon her. I guess I am so mad because he is correct. Setting up an INN after… that … occurred. It’s best not to think of it as he said.
I was slowly able to pull my emotions into check as my persistent crying turned to the odd sniffle. Well I guess it’s for the best that he confronted me about this now. Though his methods are up front he raised a real issue.
I looked up to see a downcast face of the enigmatic broken person known as Vacare. I let out a long sigh.
“You are acting.” He said in a down trodden voice .
Acting? Acting out what?
“When I first saw you… your face was resigned as if you accepted the death that was put before you willingly. I know not of how strong you truly are but you should have been able to crush those bandits like ants. Yet you... let them do that to you. You were grateful after the fact but in the moment it was if you were seeking death. I cannot accept that.” He said sadly.
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“Look, I do not wish to speak about the events of the past; both of us have had our fair share of heartache… And I cannot honestly tell who has had it worse? But I truly don’t have the power you speak of… I may have once but not now. I’m not the sort of person to vainly throw my life away; I am adamant that I wish to continue on in this world. If I live not for my sake then I will live for Novae’s sake. I must thank you for confronting me on such matters. After giving it a deeply introspective look I agree that where I was heading was not a good place by any means. In all honesty I was planning to set up another Inn when I got to the demon capitol. But as you may know my efforts would be far better spent elsewhere. For now the night is late. We may continue this tomorrow but for now let us get some sleep. I don’t wish to wake the others” I calmly replied in a composed manner.
Vacare looked back at me with a complicated expression but had seemingly made his mind up on something. He shook his head and said
“Very well I guess it is late; let us continue this tomorrow.”
“Oh and Vacare”
“What?”
“I guess. Keep on keeping on.”[4]
Silence returned to the outcrop we were in. The once raging camp fire slowly turned to a small pile of smouldering ashes as I fell asleep to the rhythmic breathing of the others who were already asleep….
…zzzz…
---------------------------------------------------------------POV Vacare-------------------------------------------------------
I awoke feeling groggy as the heated debate of last night remained steadfast in my mind. Novae was using me as some form of mount. Vinoessa looked to be long awake and preparing to leave. Able was still in a deep slumber as the debate most likely opened old and deep running wounds. I remain resolute that what I did was correct. If she was not confronted there and then she would have only dug herself deeper into a pit she could later not escape from.
I picked up and played with Novae for around 30 minutes; using my old worlds sexagesimal[5] time system as a standard. Able got up and gave me a strained look; after a while she exclaimed “Thank You!” before running off to get ready for future endeavours.
“You look worn?” Vinoessa questioned.
“Long night.” I muttered while still waking up.
She looked my way and giggled while muttering something under her breath.
“What is it?” I enquired.
“Oh nothing.” She quietly said while trying to hold back laughter.
“Novae now you go and use Vinoessa as a horsey.” I said in good humour.
Vinoessa’s face notably dropped in mood as the ravenous little chipmunk, Novae, encroached upon her. She began to slowly back off before turning around and running off in a full blown sprint with Novae close on her heels. That allowed me the time to get ready.
I went to a brook that was running close to our camp site. As I turned down to look at my face I saw a mess of mud and leafs staring back. I can understand why Vinoessa would laugh at me. I’m more surprised that Novae and Able did not laugh at me. I casted a number of low level, water based, magic’s that worked to clean my face off and acted as antiseptics to remove what may have been in all that mud. I then got changed into a new set of clothes that Able had on hand. They fit will; though they were simple leather and linen clothes. Witch included a leather tunic and a pair of mundane slightly greyish trousers.
After getting ready I headed back to where our camp was.
“Thanks for helping us pack up” a snarky and slightly disgruntled voice called out.
I began laughing in hysteria as Vinoessa had Novae clinging to her head. Her transformed form had large clumps of hair missing and she looked to have been clawed by a small animal. Able, with a disconcerted face, was standing next to her. She looked to have “How could such a docile creature as my dear child Novae do such a thing?” written on her forehead.
I eventually calmed down and casted a low level water magic in a flat plain to give the illusion of a mirror. When Vinoessa saw her disorderly appearance she immediately used [Transformation Magic] to reconstruct the damaged areas of her appearance with a liberal dose of [Healing magic] to ensure that the scratches would disappear without leaving a scar. Able was not surprised by the use of such a rare magic as [Transformation magic]. (By this world’s standard)
Vinoessa then continued, with great effort, to tear Novae from her face and placed her in Able’s hold where novae immediately fell asleep. She let out a long sigh and turned her head to Able.
“Keep your child on a leash.” She said.
She then turned her head to me.
“And don’t look at me with such schadenfreude” she added.
Able woke Novae and got her to profusely apologise for the second time in a day. Able looked to have had her spirits greatly raised from yesterday. Well I hope what I said had a positive effect on able.
“Well then shall we continue to the [Telepotation Gate]!” I exclaimed.
“Very well” Vinoessa sighed seemingly being ready to go back to bed.
Able gave a slight nod and carried novae along with us.
We ventured forth into the dense and lush underbrush. As we continued deeper into the forest the greenery was tinged bleak grey by the thick canopy of that rustled above us. The ground was an amalgamated dissonance of mud, dirt, shrubbery and fallen leaves. As the mana signature of the teleportation gate got closer relics of bygone eras became a common sight. The odd malformed scrap of heavily rusted metal or a greatly eroded stone with indistinct runic carvings became an increasingly common sight. Eventually I made an abrupt stop after about an hour and a half of walking.
“What is it?” Vinoessa questioned.
I held up my hand to quieten her.
“~magicae~ ~edictum~ ~claudicatis~”
I chanted the given prerequisite incantation to form this high level nullification magic. The Flow of all ambient mana halted. The forest got distinctly quieter as a monochromatic overtone let the once vibrant forest bathe in a noir filter.
“What did you jus…” Vinoessa began to question in confusion.
But at that point several runic engravings on surrounding stones shone brightly before rapidly deteriorating in their lustre. At this point the space immediately in front of us distorted into an entirely new space of around 50 meters in diameter. This space was superimposed onto our current reality. A resounding shockwave from the two conflicting realities exploded outwards before imploding under the effects of the nullification magic I had used earlier. The state of space in front of us stabilized and went back to its prior equilibrium.
“~magicae~ ~edictum~ ~ influunt~”
The world returned to its prior state as mana began to flow again.
“What the hell did you do!?” Vinoessa exclaimed.
“There was a key stone holding a pocket dimension bound to a number of the stones with the strange engravings carved onto them. They were heavily encrypted and would have taken a number of hours, if not days, to find a way of untangling there encodings. I used a magic called [Nullification field] to forcibly halt the flow of magic in the local area. This caused the key stones to loose there effect and the pocket dimension was forcibly expelled in the process.” I explained.
“Wait so if I were a meter forwards…”
“You would have been annihilated by that space time anomaly.” I said matter of factly.
“Can you warn me next time you overlay two dimensions” she said exasperatedly.
At this point Able caught up and looked at me with and incomparably complex expression. Wait … have I seen that somwhere Before ? That expression... [6]
http%3a%2f%2fpuu.sh%2fpgYco%2f9e5d0ca9b6.jpg [http://puu.sh/pgYco/9e5d0ca9b6.jpg]
I shook my head and looked back at Able. She looked to have dismissed something she thought not worth saying or too irrational to say.
She then looked beyond me at the new space with little surprise. I turned my head to look at what was stored in that pocket dimension. A towering obsidian monolith covered in enumerable runic carvings loomed menacingly in the middle of a small arid wasteland.
“Looks like we have found our teleportation gate.” I exclaimed.
“That thing?” Vinoessa queried.
Able remained silent.
I got closer to the monolithic pillar of obsidian and placed my hand on it.
Looks like this construct uses the portal variant of [Teleportation magic]. This is a simple way of getting from point A to point B. It works off using a massive amount of mana to tear a whole in space between to anchor points. This is a highly volatile way of doing things as the portals a typically highly unstable and prone to collapse. Looks like a large amount of the magic formations, engraved on the stone, is in place to stabilize and add fail-safes to the otherwise fairly simple, yet dangerous, spell.
There are many ways to teleport between two points in space. The way I use to teleport is a method called [Relativistic teleportation]. This works off a translation of your current self to a separate point in space. This requires large amounts of mana as you have to destroy all matter in the casters body to get the relevant information to reconstruct them elsewhere.[7] The information is then forcibly quantum tunnelled to the predefined region in space as encoded by the spell and, if the spell was properly formed, it should reconstruct your body. Your soul will automatically move at immense speeds to what it finds to be a suitable vessel, or the body that was previously reconstructed; exceeding the speed of light in most cases.[8]
There is also a method called [Absolute teleportation] that works on a similar premise but is far harder to use as it focusses on fixed positions in space. It seems simple in practice but when trying to fire something like that from a ball rotating at 1,040 mph; that rotates around a the suns at 108,000 km/h; that travels around the celestial centre of the galaxy at a speed of 514,000 mph; that travels through space at 1.3 million miles per hour. I commend anyone with the tenacity to go through and use that as a mode of teleportation.
Regardless of I began to connect to the network of anchors and looked to one the anchors at the in the Far East. This one looks to be far more damaged than the one here and just barely functional. I poured in mana to the magical formation as the runic engravings began to glow in a red lustre. A large magical formation formed in space before slowly opening in a portal to the demon capitol. The portal looked highly unstable. I casted a number of auxiliary spells to force the spatial anomaly to remain open.
“RUN!” I shouted as I ran towards the portal.
I made my way through the portal with Vinoessa, Able and Novae trailing close behind. I went through the portal in trepidation of what awaited us…
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[1] Just for interest the way the star system is set up is like this http%3a%2f%2fpuu.sh%2fpgY97%2f8d01b47675.jpg [http://puu.sh/pgY97/8d01b47675.jpg]
[2] No she is not omniscient *poke* *poke*
[3] No; Able is not a unlikable ungrateful twat.(E.g: she has more than enough reason to be this way though that is a secret :P)
[4] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qk3jepjGcvw Hu huh :3 sorry :P
[5] Our worlds 60 seconds in a minute 60 minutes in an hour (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexagesimal#Modern_usage)
[6] W.D gaster would be proud ke ke ke . Please note if you see only squares or question marks get a browser that supports Unicode :P.
[7] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQHBAdShgYI
[8] Hey it’s a fictional world … at least I try to explain this stuff in some twisted pseudo-science :P
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Rate it if you feel it is ready for critique. Please comment about things anything to do with the novel or corrections :)
(sorry for slow release exams are not fun :D) BTW will fix spelling errors when i work out how to edit chapters with this new fanged interface :P
And most of all Thanks For Reading!