Jasper filled in her quickly on what little he knew and as he spoke, the concern in her eyes gradually faded away. “How odd,” she murmured to herself. “It seems like she devised a scheme to kill Yas̆gah similar to the one I…suggested.” She flashed him an apologetic smile. “I still think it might be necessary, in a worst-case situation, but I should have broached it more carefully.”
It took a second for him to piece together what she meant. “A similar plan - oh,” his voice rose, “you mean the one where I’m supposed to let myself be sacrificed to Yas̆gah as some sort of poison pill? That brilliant plan?”
“Yes, that one,” she agreed.“If the Seraphs’ plan works, it won’t be necessary.”
He sulked, but didn’t reply. There was no point in going over old ground. “So how is the necklace related to her plan?” he asked.
The goddess replied with a question of her.“What do you know of your own world’s magic?”
Jasper hesitated. “Nothing, really. I mean there’s a million stories, everything from gods and angels to gnomes and aliens and funny old men in blue point hats, but honestly, there was never any compelling evidence that any of it was real.” Pausing, he flashed her a rueful smile. “Obviously, I know now that there at least Mwyranni and Sidhe on Earth, so clearly I was wrong. Maybe it was all real.”
She shook her head.“Sometimes stories are just stories.To my knowledge, there are not any hairy apemen haunting your planet, but there is a core of truth to some of the stories.Much like our world, your earth once had a wide variety of magic and races who lived in three interconnected realms: As̆ratu above, Arallû below, and in the middle lay the largest realm, Adammu.”
“Unfortunately for your world, quite early in its history a great war broke out between the three realms. The leaders of Arallû eventually won, but their victory came at a terrible cost. The worlds were left devastated. Many races had been wiped out entirely during the war, while others hid themselves away or fled to worlds like ours. Those who survived did not have it much better; survival was harsh for a long time, and connections between the three realms were almost completely severed.”
“In the end, while the realms eventually stabilized, their population never recovered to its former glory. Ironically, this loss preserved the magic in your world better than our own world - with so few remaining practitioners, Adammu’s pool of essence has remained all but untouched.”
Jasper arched an eyebrow. “Okay. Why the history lesson?”
Kas̆dael tapped the torc around his neck again.“Because this torc bears a remarkable resemblance to the ones the races of Arallû crafted for their most skilled warriors during that war.”
“The necklaces were intended as a measure of last resort, a way for their warriors to slay foes that would otherwise be far above their own abilities. Some claimed they could even kill gods.” She paused meaningfully, and Jasper got the unspoken message. Like Yas̆gah.
“How does it work?”
“During the battle, you must draw the blood of your foe and, mixing it with your own, smear it on the torc,” she explained. “It will forge a tether between your souls, a chain that when you die, will drag your slayer’s soul with you to the netherworld.”
Jasper frowned. “But Barbartu said she wanted me to die ‘that I might live,’ or some crap like that.”
The goddess nodded. “The lords of Arallû told many stories about those who used the torcs - stories of heroes being resurrected having stolen the strength of their foes, but…” Kas̆dael sighed, “I do not know how true those stories are. While I may be ancient compared to you, I am the lastborn of the high gods. This war was before my time.”
She examined the necklace thoughtfully. “It’s also theoretically possible it is of a later date. The Sidhe crafted similar torcs but less effective torcs when they invaded our realm in their quest for vengeance, but I doubt it would have been strong enough then to repel my touch. I suspect that this Barbartu has somehow gotten her hands on a relic from that ancient war.” She paused, and her brow knit together. “Could she be…?”
Jasper tried to reign his frustration.“Could she be what?”
The goddess frowned.“After your mother fled to your world, it’s quite likely that she would have made contact with the magical remnants in Adammu.A relic like this is quite rare in our world, but in yours, perhaps not so much.Maybe this Babartu shares some sort of connection with them, either through your mother or…”
Kas̆dael trailed off and cocked her head to the side. “Do you know anything about your father?” She asked, seemingly going off on a tangent.
“Well, he probably wasn’t a Djinn, but that’s pretty much it,” Jasper admitted. “Why?”
Kas̆dael pursued the question. “Your mother never mentioned him at all?”
He scratched his head awkwardly. “Not that I remember, but S̆arrābī made me realize that my memory has probably been altered, so…” he shrugged helplessly, “who knows?”
Her eyes grew distant for a moment, then she tossed her die on the temple floor. They skittered across the pavement like it was made of ice, only coming to a stop against a pillar on the far side. Kas̆dael walked over, and bending down, examined them. Scooping them up, she tossed them, this time more carefully, and then a third time before straightening up with a smug smile. “It seems my intuition is correct. As usual.”
“The dice were unable to tell me who your father is, but they could confirm one thing. Barbartu is the same race as he. I doubt that’s a mere coincidence.”
Jasper frowned. “But she’s a Djinn, and I’m only half-Djinn; the gis̆atu leaf proved that.”
The goddess’ lips quirked up in a smile. “And your mother was a human. Appearances are easy to change, Jasper, but my dice never lie.”
Damn it. Jasper bit back an exasperated sigh. The last thing he needed was another mystery in his past and, frankly, he was unwilling to even consider Kas̆dael’s suggestion that he might not have any human ancestry at all. Talk about a loss of identity. “She probably just got it from the Sidhe,” he said, with a certain willful hopefulness.
The goddess’ eyes crinkled in a knowing smile, but she let the matter drop. “Perhaps.” She reached out her hand to his again, and this time it passed through the barrier without difficulty. His hand clasped hers, and the menu popped up.
It had been a while, a lot longer than he had intended, and thanks to the S̆addu’â captain’s, the puhmaḫḫu’s, and the Ilābun’s generous contributions, twenty-three new levels awaited him. That should take me past level 120, he realized, and a grin spread across his face. Reaching the next benchmark for a class reward was almost enough to make it worth having his heart torn out. Almost.
Jasper Welles
Exp: 78/10,000
Health 4000
Spirit 4000
Essence 8600
Heritage(s)
Greater Djinn
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
Watchman of Aldāru
Level: 102
Level up: x23
Hand of Kas̆dael
Level: 6
Level up: x0
Titles
The Blood Runs True
Betrothed of Kas̆dael
Survivor
Champion of Sappiya
Blessed of Hurbas̆u
Stats
Racial Traits
Class Abilities
Class Abilities
Strength 50
Scion of Flames
Shooting Star
Scales of Justice
Endurance 50
Uplifted
Purge
Scourge of Despair
Vision 20
The Broken Shackle
Eternal Night II
Hand of Judgment
Inspiration 105
The Bramble Crown
Fiery Shackles II
Willpower 110
Locked
Seraph Burst
Intuition 50
Heart Stopper (Undead)
Into the Valley of Death
He quickly assigned his stat points. Dumping ten in strength, endurance and intuition, he was pleased to see his health and spirit rise to 4800. That still left him with 65 points. He quickly dumped them all in 35 in Inspiration and 30 in Willpower, but paused with his finger on the button. His vision, still stuck at a mere 20, was looking a little pathetic. Should I raise it?
After a moment’s hesitation, he doubled the number. Sure, vision wasn’t a primary stat for his class, but he was getting tired of always having the worst sight in the group. After the fight with the Ilābun, he’d been blind as a bat in the tunnel except, unlike said bat, he had no echolocation to guide him along the way. Maybe it wasn’t the optimal choice but, then again, neither was dying to an enemy he couldn’t see.
He pushed the button before he had time to second-guess himself, and quickly assigned the remaining points between Inspiration and Willpower, causing his essence to soar up to 10,000. I wonder if that’s enough to beat Tsia? Probably not, he quickly decided. Unlike himself, she constantly used barrier spells in addition to her wind blades, but he had yet to see her succumb to any sort of essence starvation. She really is a monster, he thought, with a touch of envy.
Jasper Welles
Exp: 78/10,000
Health 4800
Spirit 4800
Essence 10000
Heritage(s)
Greater Djinn
Watchman of Aldāru
Level: 125
Level up: x0
Hand of Kas̆dael
Level: 6
Level up: x0
Titles
The Blood Runs True
Betrothed of Kas̆dael
Survivor
Champion of Sappiya
Blessed of Hurbas̆u
Stats
Racial Traits
Class Abilities
Class Abilities
Strength 60
Scion of Flames
Shooting Star
Scales of Justice
Endurance 60
Uplifted
Purge
Scourge of Despair
Vision 40
The Broken Shackle
Eternal Night II
Hand of Judgment
Inspiration 125
The Bramble Crown
Fiery Shackles II
Willpower 125
Locked
Seraph Burst
Intuition 60
Heart Stopper (Undead)
Into the Valley of Death
Satisfied with his new stats, he turned to the reward box.
To his surprise, he wasn’t offered a new spell. Instead, a different choice awaited him.
Choose one of the following spells to upgrade:
The Bramble Crown - ?
Fiery Shackles II - Fiery Shackles III
Scourge of Despair - Scourge of Despair II
All three spells were ones he used regularly, and all of them could honestly use a boost. It would be great if Fiery Shackles either got stronger or could bind more foes. A longer time on the ghosts the scourge summons would be nice too. And the Bramble Crown… Jasper hesitated. The spell was probably his least favorite on the list, but on the other hand, there was no such thing as too much defense. A shudder ran down his spine as the image of his head bouncing down the steps of Gis̆-Izum’s rampart flashed through his mind. But why does it have a question mark? Is it not just a normal upgrade? Damn, this is a tough decision. Running a hand through his hair, he glanced up hopefully at Kas̆dael. “Any tips?”
She arched an eyebrow in surprise. “I thought this was a rather obvious choice.”’
“Bramble crown?” he guessed, and she nodded.
“The others will simply provide a slightly better version of your spell. But the Bramble Crown?” She shrugged, “I don’t know what it will do exactly, but if the name changes it will likely offer a more significant improvement.”
He hesitated a moment longer, casting a rather longing look at the Scourge of Despair - summoning ghosts was simply more cool - but he hadn’t asked for Kas̆dael’s advice just to ignore it. Making the sensible choice, he selected Bramble Crown.
A new box popped up.
Bramble Crown
Please choose the direction in which you wish to bond with the sapling of the gis̆ātu tree.
Thornflesh (500 spirit) - The armor of the base spell will be reinforced and a prickly layer of thorns will be added. Future upgrades may include poison.
Regal Aura (750 spirit) - the armor of the base spell will be reinforced substantially and those around you will perceive you more favorably. Future upgrades may include a variety of paths for perception.
Gis̆ātu’s Embrace (750) - the armor will remain unchanged, but when damaged will now sprout leaves that will provide limited repairs. Future upgrades may include healing options.
Jasper knew immediately what he wanted. Future upgrades may include healing options? Yes, please. He selected Gis̆ātu’s Embrace and closed the menus.
His body tensed up as then, knowing all too well the pain that would come next.But it didn’t come immediately.
Instead, the goddess plopped a finger beneath his chin and dragged his eyes up to meet hers. “You need to contact the Seraphs. Soon,” she instructed him. “I held them off as long as I could, but they’re getting impatient. Every day they delay is another day that one of their people might get taken.”
He grimaced. “Maybe they could do it without me?” He ventured halfheartedly, knowing she wouldn’t agree.
Kas̆dael didn’t bother to grace his comment with a reply. “Soon,” she reiterated. “Yas̆gah must not be allowed to ascend.” Her eyes flitted back to the torc around his neck. “I hope it will not be necessary, but if you must, use that torc. It should kill Yas̆gah and if you’re lucky, it might even make you stronger.”
He nodded his agreement, and she let him go. “Are you ready to return?” Her eyes softened. “You can stick around for a while if you’re not ready to go back. Time passes much slower here.”
Jasper just shook his head. “Let’s just get this over with,” he grunted. She pulled him close to her chest, and her lips brushed his cheek as pain blossomed in his chest. An unbearable, agonizing pressure spread quickly. Then there was only darkness.