The monsters teemed. They lacked their usual dexterity they would have under their own power, it was as if they were fighting the commands being put into them by the alchemical contraptions bolted into their flesh. There was a reek coming up the hill even before the grenades detonated, a persistent stench of rainbow cloud odour like the monsters were trying to break down but something was stopping them.

The nearest two to Teddy’s surprise attack had their units blown to unrecognisable scrap, the monsters shrieked with pain and confusion as they came to their senses seeing what was around them and immediately going berserk. They fired into their own ranks, one of them dissolved into rainbow smoke as it did, its life force spent. The other was quickly put down by the rest.

The monsters that had only partial separations of their mechanisms seemed to be fighting themselves, trying to go one way until something stopped them and bringing them back under control. As the humans walked among them they either dispatched the monsters themselves without hesitation or punched new machines into them where they could reach.

Teddy had been studying the compounds used in the machines cruelly bolted onto the monsters. He was no closer to figuring out how they did what they did and was surprised that they had backups for the complicated machines. It didn’t change their plan however, they knew the monsters obvious weak point was going to be the contraptions or the slap-dash bolt on ones.

The monsters replied to the opening of combat with a salvo of shot spikes from the remaining ‘archers’ that had been at the back of their formation, now the front as they had been attacked from the rear. They spikes lacked mass now their numbers had been thinned out and they were easy to dodge, a number of the three foot long spikes embedding themselves into the earth bank in front of the Serenity.

The team replied in kind.

James and Ragnar were closest to the front line, James had fought these mechanically enhanced abominations before and went straight for what he had known worked before, throwing snakes hand over hand imbued with the lighting energy of his pauldron. Where they struck the monsters they caused the muscles to spasm and wrench, causing injury and disability to the monsters. Normally a monster would heal from such minor injury quite quickly and be back in the fight but it seemed whatever process they used to control them inhibited their ability to heal. It was not as efficient as he remembered however and he had to assume the mechanics were now shielded from lighting damage either as a virtue of bronze rank variant or an upgrade.

Ragnar lacked ranged attacks, it had always been a gap in his power set that he had to cover, this usually meant closing in to engage his enemy as soon as he could to bring the fight into his pace but in a stepped battle like this he needed to stick with the plan. He had not had the opportunity to attend anything like the Greenstone annex, he had been a self-made adventurer picking things up as he went. He had however always been a follower of the church of Hero which naturally picked up some of the best warriors on the planet. He had trained with bows and spears but found them cumbersome to carry, he loved his axes, his huge double headed axe had been passed down from bronze rank warrior to bronze rank warrior in his church and had a legacy to live up to, his hand axe was a memento from his home village, perfect for his weapon telekinetic power. A normal person throwing axes is very inefficient, they tumble end over end and the handle may hit as much as the head on a moving target, they lack the power behind a bow and arrow or the aerodynamics of a spear and their range is far less. Ragnar was not a normal person however, with the Might and Earth essences he had superhuman strength, on the peak end of bronze rank he had strength that equalled low silver, he’d spent years perfecting his throwing of axes with the perception and agility that bronze rank allowed. Carrying throwing axes into the middle of close battle would do him little good so as he walked down the hill he launched them from both hands one after another thudding Teddy’s best crafted throwing axes into the enemy.

Kyra was a step back from the boys out front, she had strength from her Earth essence and the martial skills to back it up but she also had enough ranged attacks to be more useful a step back. She was also the team healer and general tactical soundness dictated you don’t put those on the front line. She sent earth boulder after earth boulder into the pack, the monsters unable to follow instinct and get out the way. She varied using earth spikes on the enemy and using them out to the sides to funnel the enemy towards the centre. She could summon and throw her diamond spear, snapping her fingers to explode it at will, she refrained from doing this often though as it was a mana sink and they had a long way to go.

Lucy knew all about not spending too much mana too quickly. With her static adaptable rune circles she could literally empty her prodigious mana pool completely if she wanted to. She had sunk a good amount into for her opening show however, using two golden circles of runes stacked above her she fired her first magic missile. As the royal blue comet of raw magic hit the first circle it transformed, multiplying its size several times into a rippling pale blue orb, as it hit the second circle it crackled with energy. She hadn’t yet seen James’ attacks with his lightning snakes and didn’t know that they were less effective. She too was going after the same effect the had in the desert against the Rock Wyrms. The magic splashed down in the centre of the pack, it was like a giant water balloon had been dropped from the top of a building, the magic splashed out like water coating several of the monsters, the electric effect she had imbued into it with the second ritual circle cause mass spasms, the army that was now charging trampling its own.

The battle was met when four lithe bipedal monsters dashed out of the ranks. They wore backpack style mechanics that were more secure on the faster monsters. They had feline heads with vacant eyes, fur covered the body but looked like parts had been burnt or melted in the process of controlling them. They were larger than a human but had backwards facing knees like a cat and their arms ended in large paws with extended claws, they leapt at Ragnar and James two to one. Koda evened those odds slightly, smashing in sideways to occupy one of the monsters, as his jaws clamped down on the neck and shoulder of the monster it hissed and all three of its free limbs came up to scratch at the bear. His new armour deflected a lot of the blows, causing sparks as the bronze rank claws scraped down the beautiful engraving but no damage to the metal was evident. The cat monster didn’t have the same advantage of wearing armour and Koda brought his front paws up between the strikes, one claw viscously dug into the cats belly and as its free hand instinctively tried to slash at his paw he ripped its throat out with the other. Bronze rank monsters deviated away from what would normally kill a creature, much like bronze rank essence users had surpassed natural human capabilities. The boys had described it before as working on a more hit point based system. Once Koda had crushed its shoulder and ripped out its neck it was stunned and he let it drop to the floor, he then pounded it into the ground with both his front paws, jumping up and down on its chest savagely mincing it to pulp. He reared to his back legs, roaring defiance at the army while rivulets of blood swirled around his engraving on his armour, dripping from his fur.

The time it took James, Koda and Ragnar to kill the cat monsters the rest of the monsters had arrived. These were much larger but slower monsters. But they were five if not six to one. An adventurer should be able to take almost any monster of their own rank, a good adventurer should be able to take on more than one maybe a small group. Meeting the challenge of repeatedly reinforced monsters with the tall odds was a tall order. They gave ground, step by step, bleeding the enemy fighting an attritting retreat. Kyra joined them in the melee, adding to the front line to help the odds but they were still pushed back. Teddy seemed to be everywhere, hamstringing a monster to take the sting out of its lunge, cutting the claws from another, gravity wells, black hold grenades and his familiars blinding the strangely mind controlled monsters.

Fighting in heavy armour is all about trading taking hits you know will be deflected by your armour for opportunities to strike the enemy. With the overwhelming press of monsters against them the team were making best use of the Ursa Family boon. When any of them were attacked the iron rank variant gave them an instance of Fortitude, giving them a minor increase to their strength. The bronze rank variant gave everyone else an instance of Family Blessing. This boon was used as armour, they would allow a carefully calculated blow to make it through and multiple instances of Family Blessing would be consumed to negate the blow. Once this boon was consumed it would be replaced by Family Bounty which provided a very mild ongoing healing effect which stacked, this allowed them to scale with the overwhelming force against them.

The team were not doing too badly, they were retreating but they were almost to their barricades and they always had the Serenity to fight from. Lucy had been doing her part firing into the masses, using the swivel guns to funnel the enemy to the centre then a mix of high ordinance mass effects in the deep then changing her rune circles for precision sniping. She saw the team balancing mana, health and boons well. She saw that Lord Alihan and herself were both accruing many instances of Family Bounty as neither had taken damage yet and knew hers would drop off before the end of a long engagement unless she engaged the enemy up close.

The fight changed all of a sudden. Pushing out of the pack were the human controllers and the silver rank monsters under their control.

A huge man attacked Ragnar with terrifying energy, striking him on the shield and driving him back ploughing furrows in the ground with Ragnar’s braced legs. The man was wearing head to toe dark heavy armour, a simple set that looked well made. All his joints were covered but allowed good mobility, his face was covered by a heavy helm with fluting from the sides standing straight up like sharp pointed ears. He attacked with a huge broadsword, one hand on the hilt and the other armoured hand on a handle cut into the blade adding force to the strike on Ragnar’s shield.

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James and Koda were set upon by a pair of twin dinosaur looking monsters that would have been a balanced fight pair against pair if not for the tyranny of rank. They were light and lithe, dancing in and out with quick, jerky movements. They leapt and sprang with terrifying speed at the pair who barely fended them off. They were similar to velociraptors but with a ghostly mist where their tails should be which moved to give them extra momentum and balance, sometimes curling over their backs and sometimes straight out. They circled James and Koda, pressing them together.

Another silver rank monster burst forward with serpentine grace. It looked like it had a snakes head for six feet then on the body of a raptor, long arms ended in wicked claws and there were inefficient wings that were ragged and torn. It snarled and snapped at Kyra hissing a long serpentine tongue through curved teeth, it dripped what unnervingly looked like venom. It immediately blasted her with fire from its maw.

Teddy moved to engage the two men standing behind and was surprised by an item one of them took out and plunged into the ground, it shot tethers out to all three of them and Teddy’s dimension blade winked out. The two men attacked with blades in concert, Teddy managed to dodge enough blows and deflect with his bracers until he managed to draw a sword at his hip and fight back. He had been cut a few times but was just holding them off.

They were all taken by surprise at the strength of the attacks. They weren’t fighting so much as fighting them off, trying not to succumb in the first few seconds of the fight. A massive explosion happened behind the Serenity that they all felt even in their own desperate fights and if they had the capacity they would have seen every instance of Family Blessing on Lord Alihan and Lucy be consumed.

Lucy blearily got to her feet, the Family Bounty already working. She had been hit by a shockwave from behind but she could still feel rather than see the gold rankers were still fighting. She looked over the battlefield and saw a desperate scene. All the team were fighting for their lives, the army was no longer being fought and it had broken into individual efforts. Where she had been holding her mana reserves back she no longer had the choice and went all out. Vortices of magic swirled around her as she pumped out attack after attack using Magic Missiles, wands and the swivel guns. She didn’t know what was going to happen when she ran out of mana.

Ragnar dug deep and swung his huge double axe from underneath, moving his shield out the way to allow it through. Before it had the time to connect a heavy boot came through and smashed him in the face, making him backflip onto the ground dropping his shield. He rolled out of the way of a huge double handed swing of the sword coming straight down and kicked out at the knee of the armoured man, he might as well have been kicking a mountain as the leg didn’t shift. By now Ragnar was covered in his Titan Armour so it should have been a fair fight but he couldn’t match the speed and strength of his opponent. They played a game of cat and mouse for a while, Ragnar consistently backing away and taking hits without being able to give anything meaningful back.

“Give up abomination. You cannot win.” The armoured man spoke. “We will take the city above.”

His opponent’s sword swung from the side and Ragnar caught it on the blade of his axe, unable to deflect the blow and the sword carved deep into the metal. It almost dragged him sideways as his opponent dragged it out.

“Thou art mistaken, you shall die in the shadow of this mountain.” Ragnar replied, jumping the next swing and rolling out to grab his shield to deflect the next blow. He swung the huge shield and caught the man in the chin, the helmet shifted slightly but didn’t come off.

He was rewarded for his effort by taking a huge hit again directly to the shield. He was sent spinning horizontally through the air and landed on the front of the shield.

In all is time he had never fought an opponent like this, it was startlingly devoid of aura. Not the inherent strength of a high ranker but something else.

He lay there for a moment resting on the shield, his fingertips resting on the embossed Titan’s hand as it caught the lightning embossed on the shield.

“My god, give me strength.” He muttered to the ground, dirt on his lips and body exhausted.

When he looked up he saw his nemesis coming towards him but he was frozen in time. Between Ragnar and his opponent was another man, blurry as if shrouded by distance he was slowly coming to focus. There was a stillness around him as if the world had stopped. Ragnar put his hands down and got to one knee, spitting blood to one side and standing. As he stood he looked forward again to see who it was. He was shocked to see his father standing in front of him. No. Not his father. He recognised the man for who and what he was and hit his knees to the ground, he didn’t know whether to laugh or weep. He bowed his head and held his shield sideways with both hands to his god.

“Peace son Ragnar, you have done me proud.” Hero said with a sad smile.

“Nothing have I wanted more Lord Hero.” Ragnar replied, having the bravery to look his god in the eye. He knew he appeared in different guises to different people. He had appeared in the furs and armour of his people, looking very much like his father. He took a deep breath. “A fine day to meet you ere ‘pon this field.”

“Tis a fine day indeed, a red day. The days we live and die for.” Hero said coming forward, placing a hand on Ragnar’s shoulder pulling him up with a strength that was a law of nature.

“To die in protection of innocents is a glorious death.” Ragnar said, holding his head a little higher.

“There is no glory in death Ragnar Ohanson. There are broken and bloodied bodies, the stench of death and indignity.” Ragnar frowned, looking confused at his gods words but the older man went on. “Glory is in the memory of those who remain, our time ‘pon this realm shall be measured by how long the songs are sang of us when we are gone. You have lived a glorious life and that is what shall be remembered.”

“I know what the penance of meeting you here this day is Lord. You know I am willing to pay it if it means winning this day.”

“I for sooth cannot give the day, I can but give you the opportunity in a fleeting moment.”

“I know what you can give me Lord… what it shall do. Will it be enough?”

“It may be.”

Ragnar thought about what was happening, he cast his mind and took something from the interface from the Mitchells storage, bizarrely it didn’t ask the owner for permission considering the value of the item.

Item: [Amulet of the Sleeping Dragon] (unranked, epic)

An amulet to wear on the day for when you wake up and choose violence.

Effect: When used this amulet drives the power of an essence user to their next major threshold. Essence abilities will not have the unique abilities provided by the next major advancement but will imbue the strength. The duration varies depending on the amount of power channelled.

Uses remaining: 1/1

Hero watched him finger the amulet and place it around his neck, watched as Ragnar’s eyes went wide at the rush.

“Now it will be enough.” Hero nodded to the man ready to give his all.

“I am ready Lord, bring me victory, give me the strength to turn this battle. Bring the Mitchells to victory even if I may not be with them.”

“I am proud of you Ragnar, you have ever been one of my most faithful. Take my gift and do with it what you can in the moment.”

The god was wreathed in a corona of divine light, this dimmed slightly and an orb of light appeared in his chest and hovered towards Ragnar. The warrior took a chance to look over the battlefield. The bearded James with his faithful familiar, the closest he had to a brother. Brave and serious Teddy, swirling cloak of darkness that hid the light within him. Beautiful Kyra, her hair swirling as she stood in a vortex of fire, she was everything to Ragnar, she had made him family and given him a home and family with nothing asked in return. The Serenity which had become his home and he loved it and the people on board. The witch standing on board wordlessly screaming as she imbued the magic of war, he loved her fierce intelligence and her kindness when she had such propensity for darkness. He looked back towards his god and saw the softness in his eyes, like regret. He understood then Hero’s sacrifice at being a god, what he had to see every time he appeared to do his purpose. Ragnar reached out and put a hand on the gods shoulder, feeling the raw power flowing through the being. He gave him a comforting smile.

“I take this gift freely, be not saddened by it for I am not. Tell them. This is mine choice.”

He reached out and took the orb between them and was suffused by its power.

………

Teddy felt an odd aura come and go in the blink of an eye which gave him access to his powers then saw the flood of messages on the interface.

You are in the area of divine power [Hero]

Party member: Ragnar. Has used [Amulet of the Sleeping Dragon]. All essence abilities have temporarily reached bronze 9 (100%).

Party member: Ragnar. Has accepted divine power into his soul

Party member: Ragnar. Is an insufficient vessel to sustain the current spiritual strength of his soul.

Party member: Ragnar. Has had all essence powers increased to diamond rank. Ragnar has reached diamond rank.

Certain abilities have been altered:

[Titan Armour] has been replaced with [Divine Titan]

[Magical Armourer] has been replaced with [Divine Armourer]

[Spirit Wielder] has been replaced with [Divine Spirit]

Aura power [Hero’s Voice] has been replaced with [Hero’s Aura]

Teddy took the moment to use his Eyes of the Swift power, not to attack his opponents but look to where Ragnar stood. The power showed the ghostly images of what was to come next. He saw the man shine with glorious light. Silver and gold pouring off him then something brighter. He grew, like a titan of legend, becoming a giant on the battlefield, his huge scarred double headed axe in his hand little more than a cleaver. It shone briefly before Ragnar struck down the armoured menace in front of him, cutting him neatly in half like a knife through butter. He then threw it sideways through the air and it arced, destroying whatever it touched through the bronze rank army before returning back to his hand. Teddy saw another interface notification pop up but he couldn’t take his eyes off Ragnar. He threw the axe one more time this time over the Serenity and it flew into the distance. Ragnar’s eyes met Teddy’s and he saw the familiar easy smile behind them, the eyes of a storyteller. The giant man threw his head back in joy and laughed, his beard shaking as he did. He raised a hand to Teddy and disappeared in a cloud of rainbow smoke.

………

Lucy felt an explosion of power behind her and was rocked forward again but took less damage. She felt there was something that changed and saw what it was on the interface.

You are in the area of aura [Hero’s Aura] by party member: Ragnar

All attributes are enhanced

All cooldowns are reduced

You have gained damage reduction

You have ongoing mana replenishment effect

You have ongoing stamina replenishment effect

You have gained the power [A Burden Shared]

[A Burden Shared]

Effect: ability to share damage taken between party members in the area of aura

(Temporary effect) [Hero’s sacrifice] share the lingering power of a hero

Lucy looked around and couldn’t find Ragnar, she saw the opponent he was fighting slump to the floor in two halves but couldn’t find the big beardy man. She was confused as she knew this wasn’t his aura power; his simply provided a boost to the spirit attribute. She didn’t waste any time and fired a message to Teddy.

[Now Teddy! This is our moment!]