Chapter 16
NEW WORLD ARMY
Devon had packed up the temporary camp in the nexus, and then he, Jet and the other villagers who weren’t in the library had spent several long hours pulling Haven out of the nexus. Now she was nestled against the granite wall, beside the entrance to the waygate. Once he’d made sure that the villagers all had accommodation within Haven and knew where the games room and gym were, he left them to their own devices and made his way to the Hub.
His new weapons needed to be remarkable. Devon had a few ideas and many new materials to utilise, thanks to Abi’s research on new world technologies. He lay back on the design chair and took a deep breath. He hadn’t done this for centuries. “Abi, please start the designer.”
“Yes, master, misting now.”
Haven connected to a designer by surrounding them with a fine mist of mana particles that acted as an interface between the brain and the design system. All Devon felt was a slight tingle as it connected. It always reminded him how much he loved creating new things.
He closed his eyes and imagined the design grid that he would use to guide his structure. He adjusted the grid size to be more suitable and then investigated the new ‘weapons factory’ feature that Abi had suggested. He was impressed to find a new menu system that allowed him to choose from various weapon templates. During his search, an interesting telescopic staff and spear combination caught his attention. He selected it and then went back to ‘manual creation’ mode, where the weapon’s empty wireframe awaited him. There were five sections to the staff. The central handle contained two telescopic sections on either side, and the outer segments looked more like barbed spears.
While Devon could fight with any blade, his preference was a polearm. He found it better to keep an enemy at arm’s length, and a polearm could outreach most other bladed weapons.
He chose his favourite metal, chornium, which was magical by nature, exceptionally strong, and very black. It was also dense and thus heavy, which suited him. He filled the wireframes of the inner three segments with the metal, and for the outer parts, he used mithril, a magical metal of elven origin. While chornium was an excellent holder of magical power, mithril conducted it better. It was just a happy coincidence that chornium’s light-absorbing black and mithril’s brilliant silver looked fabulous together.
To create magical blades formed from mana, he would need to move large quantities throughout the staff. For that, he would use mithril. Devon crafted mithril rails internally to stabilise the sections as they slid in and out and allow him to extend and retract the weapon magically. These would also serve as the mana conduits that he needed. He could do the same with daggers, too, but he stored that idea away for later.
Once done with the crafting, he began carving tiny, tightly-packed mana conversion runes into the mithril so that he could create blades from magical power. He then added patterns of runes to the shaft that would use some mana flow to create dark flames, a trick he’d noticed someone had used on his swords. After adding the last of the runes, there was nothing left but to name the weapon. He gave it the name ‘Wrath’. It just seemed fitting.
Once he’d stored the design, Devon relaxed and took several deep breaths. It was easy to forget to breathe when you needed to concentrate that much.
“Abi, how much?”
“That will be one-thousand, one-hundred and fifty-one points, master. Shall I create it?”
“Yes, please.”
Devon then got to work crafting his new compound bow. He wanted it to be the best he could make. Missy was an expert in enchanting this type of weapon, and she’d done so for all her dryads. After experimenting with almost every material he could, he found the perfect combination that suited his strengths and preferences.
He spent another happy hour creating a vicious assortment of metal-shafted and tipped arrows and a quiver that would sit high on his back. It was linked to Haven’s magical storage, so he’d grow tired before he ran out of arrows. It would also act as a holder for his staff.
Devon then went on to build daggers, armour and weapons for everyone. His prodigies would be confronted by a baffling mountain of equipment when they awoke. Correctly putting it all on could be their first challenge.
Once he had completed a new staff for Izzy and something interesting for Gwen, Devon decided to get some sleep. The new morning was fast approaching, and even his heightened constitution couldn’t drive him forever. Abi would organise the enchantments for his weapons from his mentors so he could take a break for now.
Devon just loved crafting. Having so many people to do it for was bliss.
****-****
After a huge breakfast, Devon was sitting in the Hub on the edge of his favourite bench, letting his bloated stomach recover a little. June loved to mother him, not comprehending that he was tens of thousands of years her senior. Devon didn’t mind, though. If it meant he got fed well, then he was all for it.
Missy had said that her dryads, including Aria, would meet them in three days. That meant he had to be in the fairy queen’s realm in approximately forty-four hours. He planned to take Izzy there later today to contact the leader of her resistance in Triana. Jet had agreed to ferry them through the void between realms.
The city’s name always made him wince as the vain bitch-queen had named it after herself. When he destroyed her and took her soul, her realm would become his. Once he’d relocated the people, he’d level the city and spit on its ruins. That was for the future, though. There was still a lot to do before then.
The frown that had crept onto his face vanished when his gorgeous witch walked into the Hub. She saw him sitting there and deliberately upgraded her walk into a sashay. When Gwen got to him, she dropped to her knees in front of him.
“Lord Reaper, I choose you as my god and sponsor. I beg you, allow me to be your high priestess of shadows and grant me the power to destroy any that oppose us. I offer my unconditional devotion to you and your cause. Will you take me as your life bonded?”
Devon had never seen her look and sound this serious before. It went against her nature. “I gladly take you as my life bonded and welcome you, my high priestess of shadows.” As expected, darkness rose from the floor and encased them both as the bond between them became established. Devon was quite surprised at how powerful the new bond was. When it was over, he felt a blast of ecstasy as her first emotions flooded across the link. He grinned at her and guided her up from her knees and onto the bench behind her.
“Now that is done, I have some presents for you. First, as one of the Shadow Elite, you need a uniform.” He reached into his void pouch and drew out a set of black armour. Straight away, Gwen was on her feet, and a minute later, she was standing before him in her underwear.
“You never told me we had an official name. That’s awesome.”
“It’s the name of an army that I helped create, a very long time in the past,” Devon said. Izzy’s history books might mention them.
“It’s got lore; kudos,” Gwen said, then enthusiastically grabbed the items and proceeded to wriggle into them. Soon, the witch stood there twisting and stretching, trying to get a look at herself. Devon pointed to the mirror over by the portals, and she sprinted over to it. As he did so, he noticed that the doorframe to his Wayfarer’s realm had a swirling golden mist that filled it. It was open. He felt his heart skip with pleasure at the sight, but it would have to wait for an hour or so.
He knew that Gwen would not wear a complete armour set, so he had gone with her preferred clothing style and, of course, maintained her favourite colour scheme of all black. He’d made her a high collared shrug, accompanied by a bustier style top. There was also an ankle-length split skirt with light leggings underneath and then the calf-length army boots that she always wore. Virtually invisible runes of power and protection covered every item.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
Gwen turned round to him and smiled her beautiful smile. Her dark green eyes sparkled. “The outfit is gorgeous. Thank you so much. I can feel the power coming from it too. How many enchantments did you put on these?” She walked back over to the bench and sat down opposite him. She buckled on the long bracers and looked at him expectantly.
“Most of the enchantments should strengthen your protection. However, not being where the blow lands works best, I find. The other runes will empower your shadow magic,” Devon responded. “I made you something a little different. I hope you like it,” he added. Reaching into his pouch again, he withdrew a black handle, bound with a rubbery material. It had a two-inch spike at the pommel end to inject potions and was mithril coated on the other. “This is called ‘Malice.’”
He stood up, walked a few paces into an open space, and turned sideways. He fed some mana into Malice’s handle and twisted black mana-strands shot from it. Dark flames engulfed the ten feet of the strand’s length, and black mist oozed from the tip of the woven magic. Devon brandished the handle and the magical cord arced then cracked with a vicious sound. A small explosion of intense darkness erupted from the point where the whip had struck. He cut the mana and walked back to his bench. He handed Gwen the whip. It was a divine weapon, empowered by the god of darkness himself.
Gwen looked at the whip’s handle in shock that turned to awe as she turned it over in her hands. “I don’t know what to say. This goes well beyond my wildest dreams. It is the darkest weapon you could ever choose. I adore it. Eeeek!” she squeaked and looked at the weapon in amazement. “It just bonded with me. How can a weapon do that?”
“You’re a proper witch now. You have powerful bonded magic. I forged it specifically for you, and so it recognises you as its true owner. No-one can use it but you, now.
Moving on, you are missing one vital aspect of witchcraft,” Devon continued. “I had to ask for Shalim’s council on this.”
“I know what you’re going to say. I plan on finding a familiar as soon as I work out what species I’d be happy with. I can’t make my mind up, though,” Gwen said sheepishly.
“Maybe I have an idea on that,” Devon said. He was thinking hard as he was talking.
Jet considered her master’s request carefully. She had to be sure about this, as getting stuck in the void was certain doom. His power was not at its original level yet, but it was enough. He was strong, so she was too.
Devon sent her back his gratitude and a big mental hug. “Get your stuff together for this evening. We’re going on a journey. You might find a familiar on the way.”
Gwen flicked to her pumine form and grinned toothily back at him. “I bloody love life with you.”
The moment ended when a small troop of young ladies scampered noisily into the Hub. They were chatting and laughing and genuinely enjoying each other’s company. These women had been refugees, living under the threat of slavery or worse. Now they were acting in the way he thought women of their age ought to be able to. It made him happy.
Izzy walked into the Hub behind them and gave the ladies a stern look before making her way over to Gwen and Devon. Her face changed from strict to happy in an instant. Finn, Madi, Dawn, and June came in then, and they also made their way straight over to Devon and the others.
Gwen flicked back to her regular form because her pumine state made humans fearful.
“Before we start our conversation, I have gifts for you, Izzy,” Devon said while extracting everything he had crafted for her and placing it on the bench beside him. “Try all that on,” he added, handing her the armour.
Izzy looked surprised, but, like Gwen, within a few minutes, she had donned the outfit. The armour was similar to Gwen’s, but instead of all black, Izzy’s was white, and every edge had detailed golden trim. Woven into the inside of the fabric were over a thousand runes of empowerment and shielding. He’d also made her comfortable shoes instead of the heavy boots Gwen preferred. It even had a matching cape attached to the top, which added further protection for her back.
“Devon, this is beautiful. I love it. Thank you.”
Devon grinned. “You look fabulous, Isabelle, but as a priestess of the Wayfarer, you are missing something.” He reached into his void pouch and pulled out a delicately carved gold-alloy staff, covered from tip to base with the intricately carved script of the Wayfarer’s ancient language. It had four spirals of mithril inlaid down its length, with delicate mithril vines sprouting from the inlay in places. At the tip was a golden crescent shape that had a three-dimensional star floating in its crook. The star rotated slowly, occasionally emitting golden sparks that arced down the shaft. The staff glowed with a golden mist.
“Izzy, I’d like you to meet ‘Faith.’”
Izzy reached out with both hands and took the staff, then promptly dropped it. “Eeeek! Devon, it spoke to me. It said something in your old language. How?” Izzy bent down and tentatively picked the staff back up. By the look of concentration on her face, she was probably listening to the weapon.
“Theia blessed your clothes and the staff,” Devon explained. “I used the soul of a powerful priestess of the light called Tanwin. Her spirit volunteered to help you with your magic and empower you with blessings of the light. It is a mighty thing.”
Izzy looked at him with such a dumbfounded stare that he had to smile. “You are special to me, Isabelle. I want you to know that. Stay with us. You truly belong here.”
“But… I want…. Oh, my lord. Thank you so much,” Izzy said, her voice cracking with pent-up emotion. She cleared her throat and took a deep breath.
“For a start, I need the old Izzy back. Stop being so formal. I also want you to be ready to travel at sunset tonight. You, Gwen and I are going on a journey to Triana,” he said. “I want to open the waygate within a day and a half, and we have some travelling to do before then. You need to make contact with your resistance group. They need to start sending people through to us, and I really need my dryads. I’ve got some big plans for our new settlement, and only they can assist.”
“This sounds serious,” Madi said.
“It is another step in what I’m here to do, Madi,” Devon explained. “I want this forest to combine with my realm to become a sanctuary for all of you, as well as other creatures that need somewhere safe to live. Izzy here is an elf. She comes from another world. Over there, people have a life much worse than yours. Would you tolerate other races living together with your people?”
Madi and Finn looked affronted.
“Yes, of course we would,” Madi replied. “You only have to ask. This place could easily be a sanctuary for so many refugees. How can we help?”
“Make a list of everything a city of two thousand people might need. Include everything, from stationery for the mayor’s office to mattresses, please. We can make it all right here,” he said, patting his design bench. “You won’t need to include building materials, but you will need furnishings. We have another god and three goddesses funding this venture, but we need to move quickly. I am going away for two days, and I need you to handle this.”
“Two thousand? Seriously?” Finn looked shocked.
Devon smiled amiably. “For starters, yes. It’s magic, Finn. You’ll see soon enough.”
Devon stood up and motioned to the group of young ladies hanging around nearby. The girls stopped chatting immediately and started to look serious. They trooped over and lined up. He noticed something that had been gently nagging at the back of his mind. Yesterday, Lorn, Grace, and Pip had beautifully plaited hair that reached down to their waists. Today, their hair was cropped like Ffion’s, who stood beside them. When they saw him looking at their new hairstyles, they each reached up to it and fiddled self-consciously.
“Good morning, ladies. Welcome to your first day as a Shadow Elite soldier.” Devon grinned at their worried faces. “At ease, everyone, you’re not on trial. I see you’ve turned up with soldiers’ haircuts.”
They blushed and nodded.
Devon indicated four large piles of equipment next to the mana-forge. Each heap of gear had one of his new student’s name scribbled on a piece of paper, perched on top.
Finn eyed the piles. “What’s all that for?”
“Ladies, there is a pile for each of you. Your names are on the top,” he said. “Tell you what, Finn, you join us, and I’ll make you a pile of stuff too.”
“He won’t be fighting anyone,” Madi said, her words brokering no dispute. “He’s an engineer, and now he’s a hunter, too. I can’t risk losing him.”
Finn looked annoyed for a second, then concealed it and nodded his agreement.
June and Dawn followed his new students over to the piles and looked at them with some confusion.
“Is this all for me, Devon?” Lorn asked.
“All for you. You’d best practice getting into it as you’ll be spending most of your time wearing it. I’ll make some spares too.” Devon smiled encouragingly at her. Everyone started sorting through their respective heap of armour and weapons with a look of determination. They soon started trying to outdo each other and made the process into a race.
His army now had five sworn-in members and Izzy. He noticed that Grace’s sister, Pip, was a sharpshooter, some sort of mana-assisted sniper. She also had some electrical-based attacks, which would add some spice to her talents.
The two that intrigued him the most were Ffion and Grace. Ffion was a shape-changing infiltrator, which he’d never seen before and assumed would be an assassin type. His mind was already racing with possibilities for what she might be able to do.
Then there was young Grace, the baby of the bunch at sixteen and the receiver of Preeta, his mana-dragon’s other sister. She was an arch elementalist. He’d heard of the elementalist class, which were rare and renowned for their power, so he had to suspect that an arch elementalist would be even more powerful. She further surprised him by petitioning for the role of an evangelist for the Wayfarer. Of course, he had agreed, but what made him wonder was where she had heard about a class that hadn’t existed for centuries. He didn’t ponder for long, though. Izzy confessed to giving her the idea after Grace asked about some way of acquiring healing magic. The diminutive elementalist was ambitious and already making an impression on him.
He heard June clear her throat behind him. He turned, and there stood the four ladies, resplendent in their new armour. Each of them looked triumphant and proud. The girls that had seemed so nervous ten minutes ago had become empowered warriors, ready to leap into combat at a moment’s notice. Unintentionally, his voice expressed his thoughts.
“Wow!”