My failure came flying up to me as I returned to the road that led out of my fort with Yan. The skulls flew around me in a few circles before speaking to me

“Master! Where are you going?”

I rubbed my temples a little before answering “To explore, nothing is as it was. You are to remain here to defend and continue to rebuild the area. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Master,” The skulls bobbed in the approximation of a nod before floating over to Yan

“What is this?” it asked

“That is Yan, a mount to allow me to travel overground easier. There is much to see and much to evolve.”

“Why has the younger one been named before I?” The skulls were trembling slightly and it’s aura roiled like boiling water. I looked over the skulls and let them wallow in silence for a moment before answering.

“You have yet to choose. It was always your choice. I simply gave you a higher form, you can think and make decisions for yourself. Yan is a tool like a horse, or a staff, to assist and not think for itself. While I created you to assist, you have enough autonomy to name yourself.”

The skulls stopped trembling and started to float away. I called out “Wait!”

They stopped and I pulled the Gem from my pouch as they floated back. I have been carrying it but I tested leaving it at a distance before and my power did not wane. Something made me feel like I should leave it here before venturing out.

“Protect this and place it somewhere secret, safe, and fortified.” I offered the Gem to the skulls who used their aura to grasp it then it replied

“Of course, Master” before flying off. I turned back to Yan and hopped into the saddle so to speak.

The skeletons I had charged with clearing the road had gotten quite a lot done and the ruined road could be partially seen. Yan moved quickly across the cleared land but within moments we had caught up to the skeletons. Maybe using so few was the issue, I could have fielded at least a battalion to clear this road. I gestured to one of the skeletons who came clacking over. “Go gather more to help clear the road.” I ordered the skeleton who turned and clacked away down the road. The surrounding area was still very overgrown and unchanged which disinterested me. I urged Yan forward who took to the uneven ground without a hitch in their step. Yan started to speed up, gripping onto the base of a tree and jumping to the next. I was jostled but a quick use of Bone Shaping melded my hand to Yan’s back as well as straps over my legs so I did not get thrown off. The speed that Yan built made wind whistle by my ears, the trees smearing into a wall of brownish-green, and I felt myself grinning from the exhilaration.

I got lost in the feeling, not keeping track of how long we traveled but we eventually came to a clearing. I ordered Yan to stop and with a flex of Bone Shaping detached from our melding. The clearing was partially natural, a lake in the middle with about 50 feet of clearance on each side. Some of the tree stumps were clearly cut with a tool of some kind but the stumps were far and few between. I approached the lake that caught the sunlight, to reflect and refract it across the surface like a mosaic. Watching the mosaic warp and change with the movement going from blues to greens, yellows, oranges, and finally to a shade of absolute black as darkness filled the clearing. I blinked, reorienting to my surroundings but failing as all was subsumed in black, besides Yan, who was standing perfectly still exactly where I dismounted that provided ivory to contrast. I began to walk towards Yan but quickly felt the world turning and I ended up face first in the dirt, my head spinning. It would not stop spinning. I clenched my eyes and hoped for the spinning to pass but slipped into sleep at some point.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

I awoke to freezing water covering my feet, with something wrapped around my ankles pulling me deeper as the seconds passed. The dizziness had fled but I barely had the wherewithal to understand what was happening until my waist went into the water. The freezing water was panacea of clarity, my mind focusing and registering the danger of what was roped around my ankle. I began to channel my magic into a runic circle just as my head was pulled under. The little light I had from the stars vanished as I was fully consumed by the inky waters. I thrashed wildly before remembering my magic, the pressure building from the water in my ears, and a bone white runic circle reappeared giving me the first look at my attacker. It was still mostly formless, a large body connected to me by way of a tentacle that writhed as it continuously squeezed my leg, small hooks covered the skin of it and I could feel them digging deeper and deeper still. I channeled my magic empowering a gray arc of power that quickly shot off towards where the mass met the tentacle and severed it fully. Oily blood filled the water, I channeled more mana into my circle changing the runes all to air, the spell completing as I started to taste the iron in the water.

I launched out of the water, into the air past the treetops to the night sky painted with pinpricks of light. The moon was new and the darkness covering the land was oppressive but with my aura active I was the brightest thing in the sky. I reached the apex of my launch and began to fall back down, turning my attention back to the ground. I noticed the mass was waiting outside the water. It was bulbous and had two large oval shaped eyes with a square for a pupil, 7 more tentacles, a beak, and was easily 25 feet tall. I cast another circle that slowed my fall to that of a feather. The circle changed forms again, the runes all showing ‘Fire’ and a single rune for ‘Lance’. As I fueled my circle the mass was ever closer with its writhing tentacles. My magic finished casting right as I entered its range and it suddenly became daylight once more. An arm thick beam of pure fire roared out from my circle, frying the tentacles before plowing through without slowing. Its tentacles burst and steamed first before the beam hit its body. The eyes popped, melted, and oozed out over the rest, a tortured shriek of pain was cut short as the flames bisected the creature which ignited each half. The beam continued traveling down into the lake, steam launching everywhere. As I landed softly in the wreckage of my power the lake was almost fully dry. Such power I devolved into laughter as I giddily summoned Yan and rode him back to my base I had ideas.

There was a small group of goblins in my path home seemingly on a patrol route. They were gathered around some of Yan’s previous tracks but they seemed confused at the patterns and were talking amongst themselves as I urged Yan to approach them.

“Look like smooth skin hands” The largest of the group of 4 spoke clearly, was a dark green colored creature, missing an eye, skin covered in what appeared to be gooseflesh, wearing a set of crude leather armor, and a crude wooden club filled with various bone and metal bits on their hips.

“You say that for all tracks.” snickered the smallest of the group, a red skinned goblin with a small tuft of silver hair coming from the chin, a constant aroma of rotten eggs, a few fingers on each hand were gone and covered in a black substance from the hands to halfway up the wrist.. Another goblin spoke up another green skinned one but lighter in shade as well as having all their bits of bobs the only notable attribute was a single extra long tooth that slurred their words.

“Alwaysh say that” the final goblin of the group was a muddy green color, smiling before laughing loudly at the comments. The laughter from the muddy green color seemed to chime before it ended abruptly when One-Eye scowled at the group and told them to shut up which caused the rest to laugh harder. I figured this would be the best time to let my presence be known and called out

“Greetings! I see you have found my tracks” They all turned as one to see me, back straight, sitting astride Yan. I imagine I made quite the figure. They all immediately grabbed their weapons and I responded “That is not the way you want this conversation to go. Or do you need an example”

“Get him!” One-Eye shouted and lunged forwards to me. I grinned and quickly made a magic circle with only two runes ‘Decay’ and ‘Liquid’ which filled with my magic power quickly as One-Eye closed the distance and raised their weapon. A deluge of green liquid sprayed them and quickly began to decay whatever it touched. One-Eye screamed over and over before reaching a high point and then cutting off as the muscles in their throat decayed. The other goblins slowed at the first scream and stopped fully when they came to the edge of the puddle of liquid. No one dared move and I remained silent as One-Eye was fully consumed by my spell, not even bones left behind. I clapped my hands together and spoke again

“Example meted out. Who is next?” I then cast another magic circle but did not feed any additional power into it.