Deep in the shadow of the mountains, the sun set early and rose late, as even Shamsha’s brilliant rays were forced to bend to the unwavering will of earth and stone. But despite the still darkness that covered their camp, Jasper awoke early, his thoughts troubled. He stole a glance at his sleeping comrades; the faint sound of snoring now drifted up from Tsia’s blankets, the other two unmoving. He tiptoed through the shrine, careful to avoid them, and wandered over to the lookout point.

Despite the night, the world that stretched at his feet was not particularly dark. The snow-blanketed mountains glistened with the fading light of the moon and stars, the earth mirroring the heavens. As above, so below, he thought.

Footsteps crunched in the snow behind him. He turned, expecting to see Ihra joining him, or maybe Nēs̆u; he didn’t know the man well yet, but he struck Jasper as an early riser.

Instead, a giant blue form emerged through the darkness as, with surprising grace, the Mwyrani lord came to stand beside him. Jasper bowed lightly to the unexpected presence. “My lord.”

The god of the mountain looked off into the distance, his breath rising like the smoke of a chimney on a cold winter morning. “It is beautiful isn’t it?”

Jasper nodded mutely.

“And yet, it is nothing compared to the beauty I once knew.” Grief crossed the Mwyrani’s face as he gazed at the heavens from which he had come. He reached one of his giant, blue hands out into the empty void of the cliff, tracing a symbol in the air. For a second the scene before Jasper dissolved, replaced by an image of a dazzling court. Ineffable chords filled the air, and an intense, burning longing sprang up in his chest as the achingly beautiful image wavered in the air before him, before it vanished back into the darkness.

Jasper spoke slowly, contemplatively, to the silent Mwyrani. “In my world, we had a mountain range called the Rockies. We visited them when I was younger. I don’t remember exactly where it was, but there was this place where you could drive up to the top of a particularly tall mountain, far above the tree line. There was nothing but rocks and grass and the heavens above us. There was something about that place that resonated with me, an almost intoxicating feeling of being so close to the heavens that you could almost reach out and touch the stars.” He sighed. “But heaven is always out of reach.”

The blue lord turned to him, understanding etched into the furrows of his face. “Perhaps that is true in your world - the shroud over it hides much from my sight. But here, the heavens are not closed, merely dying. All shall fade, until only the Mourner is left to nurture the seeds of life with her tears.” With one large finger, he gently poked Jasper in the chest. “I see why she chose you.” Arutû did not elaborate; instead, he begin to walk into the fading night.

“My lord?”

The Mwyrani turned to look at him. “Yes?”

“Why make us go through all this? Why not just makeup with Lady Tirra?”

Sorrow creased his eyes. “We may be gods, but we are still bound by the unseen shackles of the Progenitor. There are rules that must be followed.”

“So you’re bound by the system too?” Jasper persisted.

A snort broke the silence. “No, child. The system is our own creation, a last-ditch attempt to preserve this world after a series of calamities pushed it to the brink of early destruction.” He shook his head. “This entire cycle has been cursed from the very beginning, from the moment the Sidhe first crossed over.” He spat their name out venomously. “But the system was, I suppose, inspired by the rules which all of us gods must follow. We all have a part to play and cannot deviate too far afield.”

His gaze grew distant. “But I have said more than I should. Use what I have given you and win tomorrow.”

Jasper listened to the crunch of his footsteps fading away, watching as the night melted beneath the rays of the rising sun.

----------------------------------------

The trail up to this point had been difficult. After the second clearing, it became almost nonexistent. Aside from the occasional short stretches where the mountain leveled off enough to allow a path to emerge, the only signs of a trail were the cairns still scattered along the slopes. Instead, Jasper found himself climbing up one ice-encrusted rock face after another; thankfully, his enhanced strength and endurance allowed him and the others to complete a hike that made Mt. Everest look like training camp.

Still, he was constantly lagging behind. Ihra’s vast wells of endurance and stamina allowed her to scamper up the cliffs with ease, while Tsia more often than not simply floated herself up to the top, born aloft by the winds she tamed. Even Nēs̆u had it easier than him, the warrior’s investments in strength serving him well. Sadly, Jasper’s magic wasn’t well suited to the task. Although more than once he found himself staring at another rock face, dreaming of using Seraph Burst to ascend up the mountain, in his heart, he knew it was far more likely he would rocket himself off the mountain than on.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Thus, when they reached the final clearing, he could not have been more overjoyed.

For about a second.

The group was speechless as they stared at the monstrosity before them. Like the previous two challenges, a small shrine was set up overlooking the deep valleys below. And in plain sight, only a few hundred feet above them, the golden dome of Arutû’s true temple gleamed in the brilliant sunlight.

But unlike the others, there was no need to summon the guardian of the clearing.

Aside from the cheerful, snowy-white color scheme of the beast, it looked like something that had come straight out of Dark Souls - a giant, hulking monster that towered over the pesky gnats which had come to assault it.

The beast looked as if someone had taken a shalgu, made it ten times larger, and added an assortment of extra appendages. Large, spiral horns sprouted from its head, sharp bone blades running down the forearms of each of its eight arms that waved ominously behind its back, and no one could miss the slobbering fangs peaking from the corners of its mouth. When it saw them it roared, its voice ringing off the mountains like thunder, but the beast did not leave its corner of the clearing.

The four stood in stunned silence.

“Well…” Jasper finally ground out. “At least we have that metal from Lord Arutu?”

Ihra drew the ingredients out of her bag, looking at them uncertainly. “I have never done this ritual before - I hope I don't screw it up.”

Jasper flashed her quick smile. “I believe in you.” He turned to face them all. “But, if this is going south, run. This is my quest - there’s no reason for any of you to risk your lives for it.”

Ihra and Tsia started to protest, but Nēs̆u nodded his head in agreement. “Do not worry. If things 'go south,' as you say, I shall be sure to cart Tsia off to safety.”

Ihra shook her head, her lips tightening with resolve. “It’s going to work. It has to.” She looked at Jasper. “I could use your help, though.”

The next two hours passed in a blur as the group helped Ihra set up the most complicated ritual she had ever tried to perform.There was a reason runic magic was rarely used in personal combat, and there was also a reason that it was greatly feared on pitched battlefields.While far too slow to be useful in the average fight against monsters and bandits, with enough time to prepare, it could be a real game-changer.

As Jasper helped Ihra check the runes one final time, carefully fixing a small error he spotted, he couldn’t help but feel a bit like Batman preparing to take on Superman. He was pretty sure, though, that saying “Martha” wouldn’t help. It’s too bad it hasn’t been a month yet; I’d bet the Ophan would come in handy.

With the preparations finally made, the four approached the mutant shalgu. Tsia and Ihra hung back, charging their wind magic and Executioner’s Arrow, respectively. Jasper had other plans. If the last shalgu was anything to go on, he was at a disadvantage in this fight, as the shalgu had been staunchly resistant to his flames. The only spell that had proved useful had been Scourge of Despair but to use that, he would have to get in close enough range to actually hit the beast.

Thus, reluctantly he found himself running straight at the monster.

The beast was deceptively fast. Reacting in an instant, his bladed arms crashed down toward Jasper at almost blinding speeds. But Jasper had anticipated the move, casting Seraph Burst as soon as the arms hurtled toward him.He shot beneath the attack, the earth shaking from the force of the blows as the arms pummeled the frozen ground, and hurtled straight toward the beast’s legs.

When facing huge monsters in Dark Souls, he had always preferred to close the distance, using the boss’s size against it while he stuck like glue to their backside, chopping away at their legs. Jasper could only hope the strategy would transfer until Ihra was able to activate the runes.

He rocketed past the beast’s legs, lashing out with the Scourge of Despair right before Seraph Burst pulled him into a tight spiral. He skittered the frozen ground, desperately throwing himself to the right as he regained control, dodging just out of reach of another of the beast’s arms. The impact tossed him back on the ground, but he maintained his focus, raking the flank of the beast with a second Scourge of Despair.

The mutant shalgu’s roars were joined by the wails of his hateful specters, as the mountain’s silence was shattered by the sounds of conflict. The beast swung its bladed arms at the new annoyances bothering it, but its bladed arms passed through the specters harmlessly as a projectile buried itself deep in its back. With a roar, it ripped Ihra’s Executioner's Arrow out of its shoulder, tossing it to the ground, where it stomped on the offending item for good measure, only to take a blade of wind to the chest. It staggered backward, the specters surging around it, their frenzied attacks accompanied by the two mortals who hacked at its legs.

But the champion of the mountain was not so easily defeated. Leaping into the air with a roar, the creature landed with an earth-shaking thud, the impact tossing the pests to the ground.

Jasper rolled to his feet, ignoring his aching bones, as he targeted the beast again with Scourge of Despair. He spared a glance at Ihra, who was charging up another of her arrows - her normal ammo completely unable to pierce the shaggy fur of the shalgu. She mouthed something at him, and he shook his head, unable to hear. He hacked at the beast’s legs, barely dodging as one of the deadly arms whistled past him. A second later, Tsia’s wind brushed his ear, Ihra’s words born aloft. “Hold on for one minute.”

The next sixty seconds were perhaps the longest of his life. Unable to waste more of his essence before the ritual activated, he danced and dodged his way around the beast like a circus monkey forced to perform for Sheogorath.

The last of his specters dissipated back into the void halfway through that time, leaving him and Nēs̆u alone to occupy the monster’s attention. Jasper had no idea what level Nēs̆u was, but his opinion of the warrior quickly skyrocketed, as the man put on a show. In the previous battles, he had assumed the man was a dps-dealer like himself, forced into a sub-optimal role to protect Tsia. But as he watched the warrior activate a quick succession of skills, focusing the beast’s attention on himself, he realized that, despite Nēs̆u’s lack of a shield, his class must be some sort of a tank.

It was truly impressive that Nēs̆u somehow managed to survive the almost unending hail of blows that rained down on him, but the streams of blood flowing down his face and arms told Jasper that the man couldn’t hang on much longer. He caught Ihra’s eyes, and he didn’t need Tsia’s spell to understand what she said. Now.