“It is done,” Ned said as the mayor pulled his sword out of a dead Caizene.
All around was the rubble from the avalanche, blood, and corpses. Some survivors sat with their hands on their heads, and others limped. All in all, they had a victory but had lost about one-third of their men.
“A good victory,” Nameless proclaimed.
“Tell that to their families,” Ned responded quietly, a tear in his eye.
Nameless’s armored body suddenly jerked. This experience fighting the Greater Caizene and the idea that losing one-third of their fighting force against a superior enemy was a “good victory” stirred something within the knight. Memories within the thick fog of his mind surfaced like rising bubbles from the deep ocean depths. He saw glimpses of himself leading armies into battle under a banner. A banner that was still shrouded in fog and unclear, but the armor he wore was. Nameless glanced down and realized that he was not just wearing a blackened set of Templar armor but that he was once in a past life, an actual Templar! A holy warrior for a god that is now lost to this world.
ARMOR: MAGIC REMAINING 19.75%
NOT LOST TEMPLAR, FORCIBLY DISTANCED, AND WILL RETURN.
The message from his armor appeared in his vision.
“What do you mean?” Nameless asked, not caring about the confused looks from Ned and his remaining men.
The armor gave no response, but Nameless felt a stirring within him. A power that allowed him to heal. This power was inside him, and he felt that it was not a power granted by his armor but something from within him. Something that was awakened from the memory of his past life as a Templar.
Nameless looked and saw a soldier with a shattered leg. The knight walked over and raised a black gauntleted hand over the wounded limb. He felt a tingling, and blue light emitted from his hand over the leg, and the wound healed. The others glanced at him in wonder.
“Templar?” The wounded guardsmen asked in a voice that was just above a whisper.
Nameless quickly hurried over to Elora and Karl to heal the injuries they sustained fighting the Greater Caizene. After they were healed, he nearly fainted.
ARMOR: MAGIC REMAINING 14.75%
SOUL POWERS
CONGRATULATIONS, YOU HAVE DISCOVERED A FRAGMENT OF YOUR PAST AND AWAKENED A SOUL POWER. THERE ARE MANY WAYS TO USE MAGIC. MAGES PULL THE ENERGIES FROM THE FABRIC OF THE UNIVERSE AND CHANNEL THEM THROUGH THEIR BODIES. THIS TRANSFORMS AND TAINTS THEM. SOUL POWERS ARE GRANTED TO THOSE THAT ARE FAITHFUL TO A DEITY. IT IS MORE OF A DIVINE LESSON THAN A GIFT WHERE ONE IS INSTRUCTED ON HOW TO USE THEIR INTERNAL SOUL TO CREATE WONDERS.
THE SOUL POWER YOU DISCOVERED? MINOR HEALING, BUT IT IS DRAINING UPON YOUR SOUL. DO NOT OVERDO IT BECAUSE YOU WILL COME TO REALIZE THAT THERE ARE LIMITS AND THE CONSEQUENCE CAN BE DEATH. THIS ABILITY COMES DIRECTLY FROM YOUR SOUL AND DOES NOT TAP INTO THE ARMOR MAGIC. REST AND SUSTENANCE WILL REPLENISH YOUR SOUL POWER. BUT WAIT, YOU ARE AN ANIMATED SUIT OF ARMOR? HOW WILL YOU EAT? YOU DON’T, SO IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT YOU DO NOT USE SOUL POWERS BECAUSE THEY WILL EVENTUALLY NEED TO PULL FROM YOUR ARMOR MAGIC IN ORDER TO REPLENISH. IF YOUR ARMOR MAGIC DROPS TO ZERO, YOU WILL NO LONGER EXIST AND WILL FAIL YOUR PURPOSE TO SAVE THE CHOSEN ONE.
“Are you okay?” Elora asked.
Karl, his leg now healed, rushed over to steady the knight from falling. The enchanter studied Nameless’s armor and observed, “your armor magic is low.”
Nameless nodded. “I’ll be fine, just used too much of the power too quickly.”
As the three, along with Ned, headed down the switch trail, they heard a commotion. The remaining town guards, veterans, and hunters were collecting themselves and mourning their losses. They lost eight in total to the Caizene. Five were guards, and three were veterans that thought they had put fighting behind them.
“She dares to turn our friend into an abomination!” A guardsman cried, spittle flying from their mouth.
“She? I thought he was a he,” another guardsman replied.
The remaining survivors were standing around Zel. In the course of the battle, the necromancer had managed to raise two more Caizene zombies, and the grotesque things stood beside the pale mage.
“Please, I am beyond such simple biological designations. I have devoted myself to the craft,” Zel replied, oblivious to the emotions.
“What’s going on here?” Ned asked.
“She suggested turning Rolf into a zombie!” Exclaimed the enraged guardsmen.
“It is a long way back to town. We can use Necromancy to make our jobs easier so the bodies can be returned to their families for proper mourning,” Zel calmly explained with a deep lisp.
“I would rather die than to see you desecrate, my friend,” growled the guardsmen.
“Desecrate? Don’t be absurd. Your friend is dead, and their soul has long departed to whatever realm that is appropriate for them. This body is just an empty shell with the final purpose of assisting in mourning due to emotional attachments that I don’t fully understand. But nevertheless, mourning is important to some,” Zel answered with a wave of a pale hand.
“What did you say?” The guardsmen demanded as they stepped toward the necromancer with clenched fists.
One of the surviving veterans stepped between the two. “I, for one, do not wish to carry our comrades down. I’ve done enough today. I just want to go back home,” the retired soldier said.
“Sensible,” Zel agreed with a nod.
“You side with this, this vile creature!” The guardsmen exclaimed.
“Aye, and I know that without her….” the veteran started.
“Call me Zel,” the necromancer interrupted.
“Excuse me, miss, without Zel’s zombies, we would have been killed. I’m no fool to think otherwise,” the veteran finished, and his colleagues nodded in agreement.
The angry guardsman found himself alone and stormed off in grieving anger.
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“Zel, you can animate eight more?” Elora asked.
“You need to be careful. Animating one Demon Zombie nearly broke you, and now you have risen two more,” Karl warned as he motioned to the decaying monstrosities.
Zel shook their long black-haired head. “It gets easier each time. Do not concern yourselves. I will be fine.”
“It will be a concern for us when you go insane from the taint,” growled Karl.
“Your worry is touching. Honestly, now, I have to be slightly crazy to animate corpses using magic,” joked Zel.
“That’s not funny,” Elora said.
Zel lowered their head with a sigh. “Yes, you are right, and I should not jest over such matters. No, I will not animate eight more. Just one, the soldier’s friend, perhaps. That will give me three zombies, which should suffice with moving the other bodies to town.”
They traveled back to town in silence. The surviving fighters mourned the losses of their loved ones as they marched with heads bowed. Zel’s zombies tirelessly dragged the other fallen across the rocky terrain.
The arrival at Wingelton was bittersweet. There were joyful reunions and tearful wails of mourning. It was a small community where everyone knew each other, and their peaceful way of life was violently disrupted.
“Stay the night,” Ned suggested.
Nameless nodded his great helm. For an animated suit of armor, he felt weak and sore.
“We could use the rest,” Karl said, and the other two academy students agreed.
“You have our thanks, and I fear it’s a gratitude that we can not fully repay,” the mayor said while clasping each of their hands.
Ned left them to attend to his functions, and a small figure with one arm approached.
“So you survived, eh? I’ll admit I’m not sad at that,” Goodewin said with a wide grin.
“What do you know about animated suits of armor?” Karl asked.
Nameless lifted his great helm in alarm, and the gnome’s eyes narrowed.
“What do you mean?” Asked Goodewin.
Karl glanced at Nameless, and the gnome’s eyes widened.
“An animated suit of armor? An abomination!” The gnome cried.
“No, that is a misunderstanding,” Elora said with a smile and a wave of her hand.
The gnome broke out laughing. “The look on your faces! Of course, I knew the knight was something different. Who keeps a helmet on all day? It ain’t right.”
Goodewin bade them to follow him back to his workshop. Zel stood back.
“I have no desire to enter a dusty workshop. That is beneath me,” the necromancer stated and added a “no offense” toward Karl.
The Ooraki shrugged as he helped Nameless toward the smithy. Elora stayed behind with Zel.
“I need to rest and meditate. Today’s exertions put a strain on me,” the elf said.
Zel nodded, and the two set off to find a quiet spot.
Inside Goodewin’s workshop, the gnome searched around for materials while mumbling to himself.
“Not gonna lie to you two. An enchanted suit of armor might be above my level,” the gnome said.
“The suit tells me my magic level is low,” Nameless said.
“Can you help him recharge it? I figure we can use Mana Crystals,” Karl added.
“Mana Crystals? That’s genius!” Goodewin replied. His high-pitched voice dripped with sarcasm.
Karl shook his green head.
“I know what is needed. I just don’t know how. I have some ideas, but…” the gnome trailed off.
“But what?” Asked Nameless.
“This level of enchanting is something I’m unfamiliar with. A mistake could mean nothing happens or,” the gnome said and finished with an exploding sound.
Nameless shrugged his plated shoulders and said, “I don’t have much choice in the matter.”
Goodewin clapped his hands in glee. “That’s good ’cause the Ooraki will do the work. I get to watch.”
“Hold up, if this is beyond you, how can I do it?” Asked Karl.
“I’ll walk you through it. Don’t worry, it will be fine,” Goodewin replied as he put on thick goggles and a heavy apron.
“Why do you need all that?” The Ooraki asked with an arched eyebrow.
“I don’t know how big the explosion is going to be,” the gnome said and walked past to gather more materials.
For the next hour, they worked on setting up the ritual. Goodewin talked about how animated suits of armor were an old technology lost through the eons. How there were rumors of entire armies composed of nearly indestructible knights. The gnome even recalled a story about a mad mage from decades ago having a formidable guardian that would be the bane of many adventurers, and the rumors were that it was an enchanted suit of armor that fought with unimaginable skill.
“Have your town seen adventurers lately?” Asked Nameless. The knight was standing inside a large circle surrounded by intricate runes and designs made of salt and other crushed powders.
Goodewin laughed and responded, “very few are able to gain the favor of the gods these days, now that they have pulled away from our world. My grandaddy would talk about how you would see an adventurer nearly every week passing through to go on quests and defeat vile dragons. Now? Hardly ever.”
“Rumor has it that Prince Zaverick is an adventurer,” Karl said.
Goodewin snorted, “nowadays, an adventurer is any bloke that goes on quests. An honorable thing for sure, but if they die. That’s it. No returning, not like the Favored. The old-time adventurers were allowed to return back to the living after they died and to continue to serve the gods.”
The gnome and the Ooraki continued to make designs using salt and powders. The gnome inspected each with a quizzical eye.
“This line here is crooked. Fix it,” he grumbled.
After the circle was complete on the dusty floor outside the workshop, the gnome studied a hefty tome.
“Can you etch these runes on the crystals?” Goodewin asked, pointing a stubby finger to a design on a page.
Karl nodded.
For the next hour, while Nameless stood in the ritual circle they made, Karl and Goodewin worked with fine tools to etch delicate runes and symbols into each of the crystals. It was slow and precise work, and the knight was impressed with the amount of patience and detail the two had.
“Alright, now place the crystals along the ley points,” Goodewin said.
Karl moved along the circle surrounding Nameless and gently put down tiny engraved crystals at various points.
“Light the candles,” Goodewin ordered.
Karl then lit and placed candles near the crystals, and Nameless felt a buzzing energy in the air. The lines made of salt and other powders began to glow red.
Goodewin nodded, handed a single crystal to Karl, and said, “place this, and the ritual should be complete.”
The gnome scurried away to observe from behind an outdoor anvil. Karl looked hesitantly at the crystal.
“Go on. It should be fine,” Goodewin urged.
Karl sighed and focused on the crystal as he knelt to place it on the ground. With every enchantment, the final part required the enchanter to focus their mind and believe that the magic would work. The Ooraki placed the crystal in the last spot, and there was a loud snap. The candles flared, and Nameless felt energy infuse into his armor.
ARMOR: MAGIC REMAINING 54.25%
CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE MANAGED TO DISCOVER A RITUAL THAT WAS BELIEVED TO BE LONG FORGOTTEN. WELL, YOU FOUND PEOPLE TO DO YOUR DIRTY WORK, AT LEAST. NOW YOU CAN CONTINUE ON YOUR QUEST! IF YOU SURVIVE THE EXPLOSION, THAT IS.
“Wait, what?” Nameless asked his armor.
Karl stepped back hesitantly, and the look of relief on his face was replaced with worry when there was a loud ringing sound. The mana crystals began to spark and shatter one by one around the ritual circle.
“Run!” Goodewin cried.
The air around Nameless exploded.