that aside i do ghostwrite high fantasy stories for other people, here's a link to my fiverr service if you're interested.
i also do work outside of fiverr and prefer that, but if you want to arrange it, contact me here in the comments.
Now, here's the compiled chapters for lone wolf.
[Lone Wolf
Chapter
1
Summoned
Beast Battle
Today
was a grand occasion for the temple to the benevolent god of light,
Mateus in the realm of Grantsis. This day the priestess had finally
acquired the name of a powerful demon from the dark planes, and was
planning to summon the fiend in the temple to be sacrificed to
mateus.
All
in the temple had preparations set in place, the temple knights of
Eceledon, the land that hosted the Luminaire faith, were stationed at
each exit and powerful barriers were erected by the priests and
priestesses.
No
expense for the demon's sacrifice had been spared, in the city below,
the people were made keenly aware that the temple would be hosting a
powerful devil, one of the seven princes of darkness, this one titled
“the old wolf” and that their summoning ritual would bring it
forth, where it would then be restrained by powerful magics while the
invocations and prayers to mateus were to be made.
This
was to be the first grand summoning of any sort in nearly ten
centuries, the last of which had been a devil princess named rubella,
who died at the temple, sacrificed to the lord of light that her soul
might ascend to the highest reaches where she would serve him
forevermore as a warrior angel.
The
people of grantsis, the largest nation on the continent of eceledon,
were enthusiastic about the event, and were celebrating the coming
sacrifice of the vile demon that would doubtless be summoned forth, a
festival was already underway.
The
knights made it clear however, that this also had an incredibly high
risk of going badly, the priests and priestesses of the temple set
about making certain the people knew of the risk and were willing to
abandon the city of Dimmery at a moment's notice.
It
didn't take long for them to forget this fact, and they began the
festival even as the grand summoning ritual entered its second day.
An
altar in the main chamber was set before a great crimson summoning
circle, the circle had the name of the demon prince inscribed upon
virtually every part of its surface along with the words of power
that would draw it into the world of Lusedarc, where the head priest
would then summon the angel Khasimir to end the demon and bring his
soul to mateus.
If
however, the demon proved so mighty that the angel could not be
summoned, for some devils could counter holy summoning without
thinking about the action, they were prepared to go further and
summon their god in person.
Mateus
had, after all, dealt the fatal blow to the demon princess during the
last grand summoning due to just such a problem arising.
The days stretched on, and the people's prayers became more fervent, lending considerable power to the circle, the priests would come in shifts to maintain the summoning magic, seldom tiring due to being able to freely shift the person speaking the invocations. Water was brought to them that their voices be maintained, and all around the white room with windows spilling radiant light through gold and red stained glass windows the air was solemn, determined, and filled with jubilation at the prospect of bringing another foul underworld demon to god's embrace.
The
people of the luminaire faith were, to say the least, utterly
dedicated to their work of cleansing evil, they rooted it out
wherever they could with a vigor and eagerness easily passing
fanaticism, few would dare question them, for in their eyes, they
were naturally right and should never be called into question.
Eventually
a darkness began spilling forth from the circle, and slowly but
surely a form materialized from the center.
Yawning,
a young man of no older than twenty, wearing tall knee-high boots
adorned with metal plates on the front that were each covered in a
wolf-like image and wearing a long, black trenchcoat of midnight hued
silk over his shoulders, beneath which a fine button up shirt of an
equally dark color, complete with an ascot at the front, materialized
before them.
His
hair was long, longer than most women's and his face was fierce like
a lion's. Yet his eyes were filled with a gentle disinterest that
bordered on lethargy.
He
stretched once more, giving a great yawn as the head priestess in
charge of the ritual cried out “Yes!! we finally summoned
him!!”
“Prince Lurion Vel Khassis!” The high priestess Anne cried, leveling a magical staff in his direction as she spoke “we have successfully brought you to our domain!”
Prince “Lurion” was of course nobody of the sort, though it was his given name, he hadn't ever accepted it as his own. No, the man, for surely, the temple knights thought to themselves as they looked at him, this was no devil, was in truth named Garland, by his own choosing Garland Oaks's given name of lurion was one he'd abandoned in his younger years due to a falling out with his father.
“Prince Lurion Vel Khassis!” The high priestess Anne cried, leveling a magical staff in his direction as she spoke “we have successfully brought you to our domain!”
Prince “Lurion” was of course nobody of the sort, though it was his given name, he hadn't ever accepted it as his own. No, the man, for surely, the temple knights thought to themselves as they looked at him, this was no devil, was in truth named Garland, by his own choosing Garland Oaks's given name of lurion was one he'd abandoned in his younger years due to a falling out with his father.
Garland
looked upon the proceedings all around him, glancing down at the
summoning circle and then taking in the room he was now within.
He
recalled going to sleep on a couch in portland, then awakening here,
but garland was no fool, nor was he one to mistake a dream for the
real anymore than he would the real for a dream realm. He acted, but
only once he was convinced of the necessity of action.
In
this case he looked, he observed, and he kept his mouth shut while
the priestess continued what he deemed “Unnecessary ranting about
something religious” which of course was hardly something he cared
for.
The
room was wide, circular in nature, there was an altar before him and
from it, the priestess making all the noise was standing, arms
outstretched to what he assumed to be heaven or some deity.
He
immediately noted the doors, open, that the people of the realm might
enter to see his final moments for themselves.
The
room was filled with several warriors wearing ivory armor, their
helms with slit T-shaped visors showing little to nothing of their
faces.
The
room was decorated, the walls held lamps shaped like candlesticks
with magical lighting at the tips, though garland couldn't have known
that, and thus assumed them to be electrical or perhaps just very
bright fires.
The
knights wore swords at their hips, the room itself was featureless
and white save for flowers of pure white hanging from pots, these had
glowing petals, and this detail was precisely what informed garland
of his unusual situation.
Now
the lights he could have passed off as being electricity, and thereby
assumed, reasonably so, that this was another location in his world
of earth, and that he'd been kidnapped by a mad congregation, but
that wouldn't quite explain why he'd woken up standing, or why
strange roiling shadows had receded into the bizarre circle with HIS
given named etched all over it!
While
garland was of a world that did not, could not believe in magic or
the arcane, he was incredibly open minded and immediately assumed,
ironically, that this was a situation involving magic due to the
flowers giving off a strange glow, and the medieval appearance of the
clerics and knights. This was something he wanted to instinctively
rebuke, but he quickly denied himself the pleasure to instead listen
more closely to the mad ranting of the very strange woman with
pointed ears at the altar.
“and
when the lord mateus finally comes for you, your soul shall
serve-”
yep, that was a dangerous word if ever he'd heard one, garland loathed servitude of any kind, if anyone thought him a servant or a slave, they would find themselves woefully, and painfully mistaken.
yep, that was a dangerous word if ever he'd heard one, garland loathed servitude of any kind, if anyone thought him a servant or a slave, they would find themselves woefully, and painfully mistaken.
Garland
kept listening however, immediately coming to the conclusion that he
was in very real danger.
“Now
then demon prince lurion, what have you to say? Any final words
before the angel comes to strike you down.”
Garland was a simple, but very, very, very rebellious man, to the degree that if he so much as sniffed authority, he would flee, or fight with virtually all his will.
Garland was a simple, but very, very, very rebellious man, to the degree that if he so much as sniffed authority, he would flee, or fight with virtually all his will.
But
being simple was not the same as being a fool, garland was simple in
the sense that he'd forced simplicity onto his wits to keep them and
their constant questions from running his mind ragged, garland was a
very insightful man for his age, he'd always been insightful, but had
often suffered for it, having the intelligence, or rather any sign of
it, beaten out of him at a young age only to have it explode forth
the moment he was free to cause him no end to stress.
He
needed it now, however, and he immediately assumed two things for
posterity's sake, the first, that this was an organized religion of
some sort, a safe assumption to be sure, given how the long rant had
involved gods and devils, never a good sign. The second, that
virtually every person in this room was a complete fool and was
witlessly following their leader, the strange elf-lady, or what he
assumed was an elf, and that she was also a fool.
Fools,
could be fooled, as the saying he made up right then and there went,
and garland decided that if he was this “demon prince” they
spoke of, then perhaps he should play the part and see where it all
went.
“Indeed.”
he began, stepping forward as the knights all around winced and went
for their weapons.
“I
do have many, things I should be saying, however I feel that the
first among my words shall be this!” he tried to look as livid as
possible, an air of cold rage played over his features as he lifted
his hands into the air.
“FOOLS!!”
he roared. “YOU DARE TO SUMMON ME?!?! THE PRINCE OF DARKNESS?!(he
had gotten lucky with that assumption, he didn't actually think
himself a prince of anything, indeed he was quite the pauper, as most
wise men often are) “i shall make you all SUFFER for this
transgression!!” he turned about, stalking toward the summoning
circle to get a closer look at the mechanism which had summoned him
to this bizarre world, he couldn't make heads or tails of it however,
and slowly turned his head to regard the advancing knights and
priests with magical charms, doubtless these would bind him in some
way, so he kept his distance as he wheeled about suddenly, prompting
them to jump back, terrified.
He
was dangerous, so it seemed.
Smiling
inside, he continued. “Yes….you should ALL suffer!! but do not
think I will be so kind as to offer any of you a quick death! HA!!
death will be a distant impossibility where you insignificant insects
are concerned!! BEHOLD!!” he lifted his arms high into the air and
they jumped back, the head priestess, her face a mask, watched
tight-lipped as the “demon” continued his tirade “summon the
angel.” she bade.
“Khasimir,
holiest of the holy angels, bringer of the light of judgment!! send
forth your arrows to detain this foul devil!” one of the summoners
cried.
To
their shock, the angel didn't come.
“what
trickery? Can he be so powerful?! Must we bother our holy lord mateus
with this?!” she cried out in horror.
“YES
FOOLS!! SUMMON THE MASTER INSTEAD!” garland continued, utterly
confused as to why they were summoning anything, though he
immediately realized he'd been summoned and thus took the matter more
seriously.
“LOOK
WELL!! NO ANGELS WILL COME NEAR ME IN MY EVIL!! SUMMON YOUR GOD
THEN!! BUT BEFORE YOU DO, KNOW THAT HE WILL WITNESS YOUR SUFFERING
AND ANGUISH BEFORE THE END!!” raising his hands, he began making up
words to a fake incantation and trying to think of a way out of this
dilemma.
“BEHOLD
MY DARK POWERS AND DESPAIR WORMS!!! FOR YOU FACE THE LEGENDARY DEMON
PRINCE LURION (he hated saying that, but he needed to make it
convincing to instill terror, thus he swallowed his pride and used
the name they seemed to know) to his amazement, all in the room began
to back away slowly in terror as he chanted gibberish and japanese,
constantly making stuff up as he stepped forward ominously as his
voice lifted, only making their terror worse.
He
immediately interrupted with a quick cock of his head, and pointing
to the left of the room he cried “JUMPING JEEHOOSAFET WHAT IN THE
SEVEN HELLS IS THAT ABOMINATION?!?!”
To
his amazement, and to their own chagrin, the priests had been so
terrified that they glanced in the direction he'd pointed when he'd
suddenly gone from an imposing specter of evil to surprised and
terrified in order to
see what could possibly terrify a devil. and
when he ran past them, leaping over the altar and laughing
“HAHAHAHAHAHAA!! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU FELL FOR THAT
GYAAAHAHAHAHAHAAA!!!” it took the stunned group of high priests,
temple knights and the priestess a few seconds to register the event,
so paralyzing was their shock.
The
priestess's face had gone a ghostly white as she stared off after the
black clad demon she'd summoned, the blood draining from her features
and a few shades of gray appearing on her customary spun-gold colored
hair as she watched him escaping through a distant hallway,
immediately turning left and fleeing down the outer staircases along
the tower's outer walls.
“a-after
him...” she whispered. That whisper then became a scream as she
ordered the knights out of their stupor and sent them after the
fleeing demon. Cries of
“STOP THE DEVIL FROM ESCAPING THE TEMPLE!! HE MUST NOT BE PERMITTED
TO ENTER THE CITY!!”
Chapter
2
Wolf's
escape, Enter Dainslief The Hero
Garland
was confused beyond words, but more importantly, he was impressed.
The
“temple” if that's what it could be called was actually a pale
ivory tower that was so tall that it rose higher than the mountain it
was nestled beside, but the tower didn't shoot straight up, it
tapered like a ziggurat, though it was difficult to see that at
first, as the portion of the tower he was on was straight and
cylindrical, the outer wall consisting of multiple staircases that
spiraled down all around the side.
Statues
of a holy god towered over small “balconies” that overlooked a
vast forest-coated city, the city itself poked out of the deep green
foliage of the vast forest, and all around the sides of the mountain
the buildings, and people far below could be seen.
Fires
burned from great metal grate enclosed sconces, each fire burned a
curious white, what garland couldn't know was that the fires were
actually magical in nature, their magic coming from several enchanted
pebbles tied off in a sack.
The
balconies were lined with flowers and greenery, and garland thought
to himself that were it not for the rather tense situation he was in,
he'd very much enjoy living in a place like this.
The
tower's circumference was immeasurably wide, fully two miles around,
for that was just the greatness of mateus, that his people would
build something so unreasonably phallic and see to it that it was
given the proper treatment of being reasonably wide and thick.
The
tower's very top was a done he'd hastily raced out of through a
staircase leading down, the staircase had led to this grand outer
wall and the vista he now witnessed. The sun was just now sinking,
painting the skies overhead a gentle orange and glowing butterflies
flew around the fires of the sconces, alighting near the great bowls
without burning.
Garland
of course took the sight in for half a second before returning to the
business at hand, escape, and he had never wanted to escape something
more than he did now.
Far
below guards calmly walked up the staircase, deciding that perhaps
they didn't know what demons looked like, garland calmly made his way
down seeming in a bit of an anxious hurry.
“well
hello there lad! Here to see the demon?” one guard asked.
“why
yes! I just saw it!” he admitted and that drew a look of surprise
from the guards as they glanced at one another nervously.
“I
dare not return, for so terrible was it to behold I would surely have
gone mad. Praise be to mateus!” garland said, faking it as best he
could while he mulled over the new information of the guards not
knowing what a devil looked like, or that his appearance was perhaps
not unusual for the people here.
“I'm
afraid I must egress. So horrific was the sight that the priestess
feared for my health.”
“I understand father, please, be easy...maker's breath what happened to your ears!!” one asked.
“I understand father, please, be easy...maker's breath what happened to your ears!!” one asked.
“ah...a
strange magic of the devil, before he was restrained by the angel he
cast a curse on several members of the clergy, told us he would give
us the appearance of the vile monsters known as “Humans” though
in truth I know not the importance of this, it was as trifling as a
change of my ears. I'm sure the curse will wear off, and if
not...well...I shall miss them...my pointed ears, but it is a small
sacrifice to pay in service to the almighty god.”
they
nodded in approval, offering prayers and allowing him to pass.
He
made it a point to fasten his trenchcoat a bit more to better
resemble a pastor as he hastily made his way down the stairs, but
part of the way down a scream erupted from high above.
Glancing
up, he saw the high priestess pointing in his direction as she
screamed “STOP HIM!! THAT'S THE DEMON THAT WE SUMMONED!! WE MUST
DETAIN HIM AT ONCE!!!”
the guards turned to him, and garland grinned sheepishly. “well they ARE rather fetching ears I must admit-” the priestess and a group of temple knights and priestesses closed in, and with a sigh he pointed behind them “EGADS!! WHAT SORT OF MONSTER IS THAT?!?!”
to his amazement, all of the clergy and knights, including the high priestess, turned to glance behind them once more, and the high priestess gave a resigned sigh as she heard garland's laughter “HAHAHA!! IT WORKED TWICE!! IT WORKED TWICE IN ONE DAY!! YOU PEOPLE ARE HILARIOUS!!! AAHAHAHAHA!!!”
she turned to see him descending down the stairs with incredible haste, as he made his way around to a second set of stairs leading down he could hear a bloodcurdling scream of wrath emerge from the elfmaid's lips only to be muffled as he danced past several monks and fryars praying to portraits of a strange horned man wearing a white gown and with hair unmistakably similar to david bowie's when he played the goblin king in labyrinth.
the guards turned to him, and garland grinned sheepishly. “well they ARE rather fetching ears I must admit-” the priestess and a group of temple knights and priestesses closed in, and with a sigh he pointed behind them “EGADS!! WHAT SORT OF MONSTER IS THAT?!?!”
to his amazement, all of the clergy and knights, including the high priestess, turned to glance behind them once more, and the high priestess gave a resigned sigh as she heard garland's laughter “HAHAHA!! IT WORKED TWICE!! IT WORKED TWICE IN ONE DAY!! YOU PEOPLE ARE HILARIOUS!!! AAHAHAHAHA!!!”
she turned to see him descending down the stairs with incredible haste, as he made his way around to a second set of stairs leading down he could hear a bloodcurdling scream of wrath emerge from the elfmaid's lips only to be muffled as he danced past several monks and fryars praying to portraits of a strange horned man wearing a white gown and with hair unmistakably similar to david bowie's when he played the goblin king in labyrinth.
Just
then a pair of knights jumped down from the higher staircase as he
brushed past the room to the next set of stairs toward the outer
wall, and garland stopped in his tracks, glancing up to see that
they'd descended from quite a height.
Slowly
backing up, he considered this new information “How in the blazes
did you survive that jump?” he asked as the knights advanced on
him.
“Our
faith makes our feet strong worm, now stop right there devil, we're
to be sacrificing you to our lord, mateus!” they gestured to the
painting while the fryars and monks, recognizing that they were in
the same room as the summoned devil, immediately rushed out of the
room in horror.
Garland
wisely considered his situation, he was dealing with nonhumans of
some sort, that much was plain, but their abilities were clearly
above human, meaning they had great strength in those limbs.
It
also meant that he was at a foul sort of disadvantage.
Behind
him, the advancing knights and priests were having trouble getting
past the sudden flood of monks and the two before while, while well
armed...were only two.
Garland
had never fought a day in his life, though he'd always vowed that if
his freedom were ever threatened again, he'd kill if need be.
So
this was to be a test of that vow then.
The
first knight came on with his weapon aimed at garland's breast,
turning aside, he found it remarkably easy to respond to the attack,
indeed, it seemed as though it were coming in a few seconds more
slowly than he was expecting, and he managed to grab the knight's
leading wrist and disarm him.
Without
pausing to think, he reversed the direction of the blade and drove it
into the knight's heart wordlessly, the other screamed in horror and
came on, only to find garland using his comrade's body as a shield.
Dealing
a fatal blow to the already dying elf, the comrade held his friend in
his arms when garland thrust the limp body at him.
A
moment later, the elf's head, helm and all, were spinning in the air,
and garland continued on, taking the sheath from the body and putting
it on, sheathing the weapon as he went.
To
his dismay, more were waiting for him, this time priests.
With
words of prayer they summoned bizarre rings of light that slowly rose
up in small pillars, to his surprise these attacks were very
predictable, and he need only keep moving to avoid them.
Still
their range could potentially be a nuisance, and so without thinking,
he slew the clerics casting the spells as he passed, he didn't enjoy
the act, but as far as he was concerned this whole temple and all in
it were potentially his enemies, he couldn't suffer them to get in
his way and live, the risks of letting too many pursue him were
simply too great.
Soon
it became a battle as he raced down yet another set of stairs,
cutting down knights as he passed them without giving a thought to
who they were or what they wanted with him, he was working on pure
terrified instinct at this moment.
These
clerics were threatening his freedom.
None
could be suffered to stand in the way of his freedom.
To
garland, freedom was life itself, without freedom he couldn't count
himself as a living being, he had to be free, to be anything less was
to be dead.
And
so he fought as a demon possessed animal then, tearing through the
unwary knights as he made his way, not daring to give them license to
respond even as the larger group of clerics and knights continued to
give chase.
In
the distance a woman riding a silver dragon appeared, brandishing a
spear thick with lightning and he paused, taking a moment to assess
this new threat.
The
woman was the high priestess from before, now wearing battle armor,
her hair whipping in the wind, the silver dragon roared, the sound
deafening and it opened its maw.
He'd
seen enough fantasy books to know it wasn't about to vomit up teddy
bears at him, he ran, hard and fast as the icy breath of the dragon
struck the wall behind him.
He
heard the crack of an electric bolt and jumped just as it slammed
into the wall right where his feet had been, now he was dealing with
a slowly advancing wall of white death and a deranged battle
priestess with a magical bolt throwing spear hell-bent on killing or
capturing him.
And
the ground didn't appear any closer than before, though he'd surely
descended several hundred feet already.
Not
thinking on it, he ran, he found that his stamina hadn't yet
depleted, curious, given how he was flat-footed and couldn't run for
more than ten feet at a time, to have to run several stories as he'd
been doing only to find himself not tiring….it defied belief.
More
magic circles sprung up at his feet and he kept moving to avoid these
too, just as he was nearing a part of the staircase level with the
boughs of a great tree growing from on of the gardens on the upper
wall, the dragon appeared in front of him, its maw opening to unleash
its killer breath.
As
fortune would have it, there was a door to his right, and he
immediately burst through it, racing through a dim room filled with
curtains and smoke and...the sounds of pleasure?
He
glanced to his left and to his right, finding countless elf-maids and
men going at it like rabbits, their bodies sweaty and heaving as they
indulged in the throes of passionate lovemaking in what appeared to
be a room wholly dedicated to it.
“quite
the religion” he admitted he he glanced around. “the human world
is more chaste than this.”
One woman with a man atop her glanced at him and smiled as she moved rhythmically with her mate.
One woman with a man atop her glanced at him and smiled as she moved rhythmically with her mate.
“come
father...join us for the...holy ceremony….mateus's wife, goddess of
love, would surely bless me with your children as well as sir
dainslief's here.”
the elf called dainslief glanced up from the maiden to see the “father” staring at them as though they'd committed a grave sin.
the elf called dainslief glanced up from the maiden to see the “father” staring at them as though they'd committed a grave sin.
“Let
em go...it's clear he's in a hurry matilda. Besides, only babe you're
bearing is mine.” he growled, getting back to it.
Garland
took a moment to calm down as he made his way past the lovemaking
couples in various
“Booths” comprised of scarlet drapes barely separating them,
incense and food, as well as what he assumed to be narcotics,
littered the carpet floors smoke
from scented candles and brass incense pots both on the floor and
hanging from the fresco painted ceilings hung thick in the air,
clearly the religion was a dual religion, or perhaps it had a
pantheon, there was mateus, that much was certain, as he was the one
to be sacrificed to him, but mateus had a wife? And she was an
accepted goddess of love in what seemed to be a chaste religion?
He
didn't quite get it, but he suspected that this faith worked on
wildly different beliefs than what humans, ever the virtuous
hypocrites that they were, would have allowed or accepted.
He
found the next ten rooms ahead to be more of the same, aphrodisiacs
clung to the air in the form of incense, elf men were copulating with
men, women were going down on women, it was a dedicated orgy floor
for this seeming goddess of fertility and love, no doubt the elves
and their religion was founded on this to better attract believers,
or...another far more disturbing possibility….the god they
worshiped was every bit as real as the goddess they fucked for, and
the whole faith was founded on an actual pantheon, something
garland's people, the humans, simply didn't have.
In
a way, it made him feel quite depressed, but as a virgin and one not
particularly interested in copulation of any sort, he decided to
leave this strange floor with as much dignity as he could muster,
keeping his weapon sheathed as he made his way through countless
rooms before finding a staircase leading further down.
The
high priestess made her way into the room, and she smiled at the orgy
taking place on this floor, yes this was just the sort of thing she
approved of, worship of mateus's loving wife, the goddess of love and
fertility, she carefully set the knights and priests at her side to
looking around with great care for signs that the demon had disguised
himself among the lovers.
To
her disdain, she soon found dainslief, the captain of the temple
knights, having his way with an elf priestess, in particular he was
taking her from behind now, and, she noted, doing it to the wrong
orifice.
“dainslief,
I appreciate your efforts on this sacred day.” the priestess said
and the captain glanced up to see her. “but aside from the fact
that you're supposed to impregnate a maiden, not send her to the
restrooms, erm...how to say..did a dark clad fellow come through
here?”
“yep, seemed pretty disinterested in joining us though.” dainslief said with a sigh.
“yep, seemed pretty disinterested in joining us though.” dainslief said with a sigh.
“he
was so handsome too.” the elfmaid said through her pleasured gasps.
“I wished he would have joined us for a good rutting…”
“dainslief, I must ask you to help me detain him. That fiend you saw is the demon we summoned.”
dainslief stopped cold, glancing up at her in shock.
“dainslief, I must ask you to help me detain him. That fiend you saw is the demon we summoned.”
dainslief stopped cold, glancing up at her in shock.
She
nodded quietly. “I dare not disrupt the session, but...through base
trickery he managed to elude our bonds. It seems the old wolf is
cunning indeed. We need your arm on this, he's already killed several
temple knights in his flight.”
“figures.” dainslief grumbled, and he disengaged, despite the priestess's protests.
“figures.” dainslief grumbled, and he disengaged, despite the priestess's protests.
“Hey,
alex right?” he asked, motioning to one of the guards. “Keep her
company for me, I don't like abandoning my lady during this-” he
coughed “most holy of times, but...eh, sacrifices.” he gave a
shrug and began to put his clothing on.
The
one called alex began stripping, and the elf maid soon found herself
grinning at this new specimen, his abs practically double dainslief's
ab size, and she all but pulled him to her as he managed to free his
helm.
Conversely
dainslief began putting on his armor and attire and strapping a
broadsword to his back.
“don't
hurt him my sweet.” the priestess cried as alex began thrusting.
“he seems like such a nice fellow.”
dainslief did agree there, whoever the demon was, he didn't seem like the sort of person who'd kill for the pleasure of it.
dainslief did agree there, whoever the demon was, he didn't seem like the sort of person who'd kill for the pleasure of it.
“cappin
him alive then lady trish.” dainslief said dismissively to the high
priestess.
“thank
you dainslief, it would be appreciated. May mateus and his loving
wife watch over you-”
“yeah, yeah...damned demon's gonna take a few licks for killing my boys though.” he shrugged, chalking it up to panic.
“yeah, yeah...damned demon's gonna take a few licks for killing my boys though.” he shrugged, chalking it up to panic.
He
didn't know much about demons, but supposedly the last time a grand
summoning had taken place, the demon princess had begged for her life
before the end.
Not
something dainslief thought demons did, though he'd only heard of
this from secondhand accounts or “alternate accounts from sources
the church didn't give credence to” which in most cases meant they
were quite reliable.
In
particular, the harrowing account of the last surviving elf who'd
been there to see it for himself, ghido, who witnessed the demon
maiden for himself and saw nothing showing her to be “evil” in
any capacity.
She'd
begged for mercy, according to the old sage, and she'd been taken by
mateus himself, screaming and begging for mercy from the clerics, who
continued their prayers.
Only
ghido had been affected by her cries it seemed, and for his
“Misconduct” he'd been quietly excommunicated from the faith.
So
dainslief didn't really give to much thought to the “demon” as he
stood before the front gates of the holy chapel, the main room
leading to the outside, he'd taken a shortcut, jumping down several
flights of stairs to await the demon as he approached via several
staircases.
When
he finally entered the main chapel at the base of the temple, he
wasn't very tired, something dainslief thought strange, he'd been
expected the demon to be at least somewhat fatigued by his descent,
but he chalked it up to the devil's supernatural qualities.
Now,
standing before it, he put his hand on the hilt of his weapon and
drew it.
“greetings
again father. I have orders to bring you in alive.”
Garland blinked, hadn't he just seen this elf not an hour ago having sex in the upper floors? Forty stories up?
Garland blinked, hadn't he just seen this elf not an hour ago having sex in the upper floors? Forty stories up?
“Dainslief
yes?” he asked, approaching the knight captain, visibly shaken and
confused.
“Yeah
I jumped down a few flights to head you off...why didn't you?”
“I wasn't aware it was possible..I suppose I shall have to remember you elves can do that.”
“elves eh? Some kinda slang term for us?” he asked, staring into the weapon as he checked his stubble, his hair was frightfully long and ragged, and his armor consisted of a blue longcoat with buttons of pure platinum, he wore a white hood, though because of the length of his messy hair he often just kept it down to avoid looking like an idiot.
“I wasn't aware it was possible..I suppose I shall have to remember you elves can do that.”
“elves eh? Some kinda slang term for us?” he asked, staring into the weapon as he checked his stubble, his hair was frightfully long and ragged, and his armor consisted of a blue longcoat with buttons of pure platinum, he wore a white hood, though because of the length of his messy hair he often just kept it down to avoid looking like an idiot.
His
sword, jungengormand, was a massive broad blade thrice his own size,
and had to be sheathed at a diagonal angle to avoid it getting in the
way.
“what
are your people called? And why are you waiting for me instead of
that proverbial army from before?”
“Because mr demon, I'm all they need now. You killed my boys...er..I didn't really introduce myself. Knight captain dainslief, of the luminaire faith. My people are called the hydalians. And you? You're that demon jurion or whatever right? “
“Lurion, is my given name, though I am called garland. I disowned that name years ago. I would very much like to know how your people came to know my name at all. But we can continue that for another time. For now I would like to ask, what Is this?”
“what is what?” dainslief asked, checking his stubble in the reflection of the blade and frowning.
“Because mr demon, I'm all they need now. You killed my boys...er..I didn't really introduce myself. Knight captain dainslief, of the luminaire faith. My people are called the hydalians. And you? You're that demon jurion or whatever right? “
“Lurion, is my given name, though I am called garland. I disowned that name years ago. I would very much like to know how your people came to know my name at all. But we can continue that for another time. For now I would like to ask, what Is this?”
“what is what?” dainslief asked, checking his stubble in the reflection of the blade and frowning.
“this?
Me being summoned here, these priests trying to force me to serve
this...god...what is this about?”
“you're a demon, the demon prince...er..whatever your name was. In our faith you're the old wolf, one of seven princes of darkness. We came across your summonable name and took the opportunity to summon you forth as a sacrifice to god. Or so the church has said.”
“you're a demon, the demon prince...er..whatever your name was. In our faith you're the old wolf, one of seven princes of darkness. We came across your summonable name and took the opportunity to summon you forth as a sacrifice to god. Or so the church has said.”
“for
what purpose?” garland asked.
“Probably
because they wanted to show mateus their appreciation. Gods, it's a
strange relationship they have to mortals. Anywho, so that's why you
killed my boys then? We summoned you and you thought you'd just cut
my guys down?”
“No, I cut them down for the same reason I'd ever cut anyone down. Your church thought to force me to be a slave against my will. I am no man's slave, no god's slave, I would rather die one thousand deaths a free man than be killed and made a god's slave. Your church, in summoning me here to be a “Sacrifice” has unwittingly defiled me in the worst imaginable way.” garland tore his weapon from its sheathe and pointed it at dainslief. “you threatened my freedom. To me, freedom is life, I can't live without it. Thus I fought to kill your men, who stood in the way of that freedom.”
“freedom to do what?” dainslief asked.
“No, I cut them down for the same reason I'd ever cut anyone down. Your church thought to force me to be a slave against my will. I am no man's slave, no god's slave, I would rather die one thousand deaths a free man than be killed and made a god's slave. Your church, in summoning me here to be a “Sacrifice” has unwittingly defiled me in the worst imaginable way.” garland tore his weapon from its sheathe and pointed it at dainslief. “you threatened my freedom. To me, freedom is life, I can't live without it. Thus I fought to kill your men, who stood in the way of that freedom.”
“freedom to do what?” dainslief asked.
“i...don't
understand the question. Freedom is freedom, it doesn't matter what I
would do with it. The freedom itself is most valuable to
me.”
dainslief took that in, trying to reconcile it with the church's teachings.
dainslief took that in, trying to reconcile it with the church's teachings.
“How
would you feel, sir dainslief, if you went to bed in your unassuming
home one night, only to awake and find yourself threatened by an
order of fanatics? Forced to be a sacrifice without ever knowing why
or how?”
“yeah, it'd be pretty shitty.” dainslief admitted. “unfortunately orders are orders pal. You're under arrest. My boys didn't die for nothing, so that's good. I can forgive you for putting em down for that reason at least, but i've a job to do.”
“My apologies, sir dainslief...but I must resist arrest.” garland replied coldly.
“yeah, it'd be pretty shitty.” dainslief admitted. “unfortunately orders are orders pal. You're under arrest. My boys didn't die for nothing, so that's good. I can forgive you for putting em down for that reason at least, but i've a job to do.”
“My apologies, sir dainslief...but I must resist arrest.” garland replied coldly.
“that,
young fellow, was a mistake.” dainslief said, assuming a stance.
Garland
had killed most of the knights and clerics on his way down by taking
them by surprise as he went, and so faced with this captain, who was
clearly more dangerous than the small army that had been chasing him
earlier, he realized he
wasn't quite as prepared for a trained, prepared warrior.
And
yet the door was behind dainslief, and so garland could only assume
his own stance, and try to puzzle a way out of this predicament.
No
doubt this elf would buy time for the priests to come in with their
magics and bind him, then drag him to his death, helpless, and worse,
he'd have to listen to them pray and sermon him.
That
was surely a fate worse than death.
“Dainslief...”
garland began as he slowly drew near, weapon ready. “You have my
sincerest apologies for disrupting your lovemaking for this trifle,
however know this, you stand between me and my freedom, I will show
you no more quarter than your men. Get out of my way, this is the
only warning I'll give you.”
“did you give my boys warning?” dainslief asked.
“did you give my boys warning?” dainslief asked.
“Of
course not.” garland replied coldly. “it's confused logic to be
sure, but i'm not exactly in an ideal situation.”
“aw, I get special treatment from everyone.” dainslief said mockingly. “even demon princes. Man you're gonna need new legs after i'm DONE WITH YOU-” on he came, with enough speed and force to kick up a whirlwind.
“aw, I get special treatment from everyone.” dainslief said mockingly. “even demon princes. Man you're gonna need new legs after i'm DONE WITH YOU-” on he came, with enough speed and force to kick up a whirlwind.
And
garland braced himself for a certain defeat.
Chapter
3
Dainslief
and the old wolf clash
Garland
had attributed his uncharacteristic burst of stamina to the
adrenaline induced by the terror of his situation, but when
dainslief's sword came crashing down before him, sending out a
shockwave that lifted benches all around him, he wasn't so sure that
was the case.
Garland
saw the attack and found avoiding it easy, though he saw the
shockwave coming in with incredible speed, he saw too, a similar
vision, but slower.
It
was strange, it was almost as if he was perceiving two different
events, and he found moving out of the way of the attack to be very
easy.
When
the shockwave slammed into the altar at the back of the chapel, the
blast shattered the stained glass windows, sending a rain of diamond
dust raining down as dainslief blinked in confusion, seeing the demon
prince had narrowly avoided the attack.
“a
wiseass eh?” dainslief muttered. “fine, let's see you dodge
THIS-” another blow, this one sending three shockwaves at him, one
behind the first one, and another snaking to the left and right of
the other two.
And
once again garland saw it coming at two distinct speeds, very fast,
and very slowly, and he focused on avoiding the slower speed, it was
the same image, but it seemed to be playing twice in his mind, as
though at the same time, yet somehow not.
He
could guess that something was altering his senses for him, perhaps a
toxin in the air, or perhaps this world's influence on him was
causing an anomaly, if this world had magic, how would it affect a
non-magic user? These thoughts came to him as the foremost image of
the three shockwaves resembling a climhazzard attack, came toward
him, now entirely slowed down.
No
magic was this, however, merely garland's perception of the event
being altered.
Stepping
to the side of the foremost shockwave, he calmly stepped back as the
one winding between the other two passed a mere two inches before
him, its form like a serpent made of dust clouds blown about by a
cutting wind pressure.
The
third one exploded, but he saw it coming long before it could affect
him, and he wisely moved away, only grazed by the force as it gently
pressed into him.
The
blow immediately sped up his perception, and suddenly his mind and
senses were running at normal speeds, and his arms stung from lifting
them to block the blast of air as he was knocked into a pillar.
Dainslief
let out a chuckle, thinking victory his, only to find his dark clad
adversary hardly fazed, glancing left and right garland blinked.
“I
must confess, you're quite tricky sir knight.”
growling, dainslief lifted his blade and charged, deciding that perhaps he wasn't taking the threat seriously enough, just as he neared garland, roaring angrily, he tripped and tumbled head over heels, grabbing his heel a bit too quickly, garland noted, and immediately crying out in pain “OH!! oh my ankle!!! i've sprained it!!”
a moment of silence ensued between the two as garland watched him warily before asking “really?” which was immediately punctuated by “Oh yeah, totally hurt my foot, I'll be limping for a month at least!”
growling, dainslief lifted his blade and charged, deciding that perhaps he wasn't taking the threat seriously enough, just as he neared garland, roaring angrily, he tripped and tumbled head over heels, grabbing his heel a bit too quickly, garland noted, and immediately crying out in pain “OH!! oh my ankle!!! i've sprained it!!”
a moment of silence ensued between the two as garland watched him warily before asking “really?” which was immediately punctuated by “Oh yeah, totally hurt my foot, I'll be limping for a month at least!”
more silence ensued.
“Yep.”
dainslief said after another minute of confused glaring “totally
busted, it's going to take a loooot of time in the chambers of
passion with my favorite priestesses to heal this...hehe….gonna
need LOTS of succor….totally...”
“you're pulling my leg.” garland growled.
“you're pulling my leg.” garland growled.
“that's
not funny, can't you see i'm wounded?” dainslief growled.
Another
minute of silence, and dainslief gave a cough “y-you know….if you
were clever….you could probably escape...with me in the condition
i'm in….i can't possibly chase you down.”
“I killed your men.” garland stated flatly, and he shrugged. “we have resurrection magic, they'll be back on their feet in no time.”
that gave garland pause, resurrection magic….meaning one could be revived from death? Such a thing would have been invaluable in his world.
“I killed your men.” garland stated flatly, and he shrugged. “we have resurrection magic, they'll be back on their feet in no time.”
that gave garland pause, resurrection magic….meaning one could be revived from death? Such a thing would have been invaluable in his world.
“sounds
convenient for you then….does it have limits?” he asked.
“yeah,
burn a body to ash and the spells are useless...but uh...you sure you
should be sticking around here? Shouldn't you be...I
dunno...leaving?”
“should I be? What of your duty?”
dainslief gestured to his leg incredulously. “I'm wounded you idiot!! I can't fight at all! NOPE!! NOT AT ALL!! I'M TRULY DEFEATED!!” he raised his voice and garland sighed and moved past him without a word.
“should I be? What of your duty?”
dainslief gestured to his leg incredulously. “I'm wounded you idiot!! I can't fight at all! NOPE!! NOT AT ALL!! I'M TRULY DEFEATED!!” he raised his voice and garland sighed and moved past him without a word.
“you're
welcome.” dainslief shouted after him, and garland gave a shrug in
his general direction before exiting through the doors.
He
didn't get far, for just as he ran outside, the silver dragon
appeared, landing before him with the high priestess astride it.
“So,
dainslief has fallen.”
“Yes.” garland replied. “he has a sprained ankle if you can believe it.”
she scowled and leveled the spear, visibly brimming with crackling arcs of lightning.
“Yes.” garland replied. “he has a sprained ankle if you can believe it.”
she scowled and leveled the spear, visibly brimming with crackling arcs of lightning.
“Demon,
you're to be sacrificed to our lord effective immediately. Come
Tiamat, let us disable him, that he might be sent to mateus without
further convenience!!”
The
dragon called tiamat gave a chuckle at that and the high priestess
dismounted as the silver dragon took to the skies while the priestess
slowly circled him, keeping the spear leveled at him.
“You
people summon me here to kill me, yet you don't seem to get that I'm
not interested in serving your god.” garland growled. “Well,
since sir dainslief was so generous as to give me his name, I would
like very much to know the name of the maiden who so presumptuously
woke me from my slumber and tried to slay me for her god.”
“I am called high priestess Anne, and you will come with me, the question is, how many limbs will you be missing? One? Two? All? So long as your core self Is intact I hardly feel that the great lord mateus will care a whit for the state of your body.”
“Spoken like a true fanatic.” garland returned, adjusting his ascot as he looked up at the dragon, who was no doubt waiting for the priestess to engage, to compliment her attacks and make it more difficult for him to evade her.
“I am called high priestess Anne, and you will come with me, the question is, how many limbs will you be missing? One? Two? All? So long as your core self Is intact I hardly feel that the great lord mateus will care a whit for the state of your body.”
“Spoken like a true fanatic.” garland returned, adjusting his ascot as he looked up at the dragon, who was no doubt waiting for the priestess to engage, to compliment her attacks and make it more difficult for him to evade her.
“tell
me priestess….why? Why are you tormenting me like this?” he asked
and she paused, a confused look on her face. “Because you are a
demon, we are well within our rights to sacrifice you dark
prince.”
garland nodded, confirming his suspicions that coaxing rational conversation out of this woman, his chief antagonist, was as distant as possibilities could become.
garland nodded, confirming his suspicions that coaxing rational conversation out of this woman, his chief antagonist, was as distant as possibilities could become.
“very
well then.” he said, I'll go with you willingly.”
“t-truly?” she asked, incredulous.
“t-truly?” she asked, incredulous.
“Yes!
I'm bored, perhaps this mateus will be a worthy vision for me to
behold before the end. Come, lead the way for me.”
she
blinked, confused, after all he'd slain, she wasn't convinced that he
was actually going to submit, and he gestured up to tiamat. “i
cannot possibly fight or outrun a dragon.” he explained. “If I am
to be sacrificed, I shall do so of my own accord.”
nodding, she moved closer, a look of calm over her features. “I'm sure that the lord mateus will be grateful for your...cooperation on this matter.” she replied. “oh how I envy you devil, to be summoned to his side and-”
“hold on!! what is that?!” garland cried pointing behind her.
nodding, she moved closer, a look of calm over her features. “I'm sure that the lord mateus will be grateful for your...cooperation on this matter.” she replied. “oh how I envy you devil, to be summoned to his side and-”
“hold on!! what is that?!” garland cried pointing behind her.
She
gave a sigh and brought the spear up. “that won't work a third
time!” she growled.
“I
disagree! It worked perfectly!” garland replied, staring up
at….something.
It
was then she noted the looming shadow of something behind her, she
turned and saw a hideous sight, a tall, muscular archdemon with
curving ramlike horns, whose every breath brought with it curls of
smoke, he was in the middle of lifting a clenched fist to backhand
her when she glanced around, and to his credit, garland did well to
hide his surprise at the sudden appearance of the creature.
“So
YOU are the devil they summoned?” the demon asked in growling tones
as it knelt to meet him at eye level (it was fully twenty feet tall
and had to do this just to stare him in the eyes)
“nothing
special, welp, better get this over with-” he lifted his powerful
muscular arms, each as thick as a tree trunk in size, and brought
them down on garland's head, or tried to.
But
to garland, the devil's attack seemed to be moving quite slowly, and
testing this bizarre new reflex out, he moved to touch the demon's
hand as it came crashing down ever so slowly, to his surprise, the
force of the blow seemed to be ever slightly mitigated by his mere
touch, leading garland to the hypothesis that his body was somehow
improving in this strange world.
Balling
his fist, he punched the demon's arms with full force as they came
down, and to his amazement, he sent the devil's arms flying wide.
Blinking
in stupefied surprise, the devil looked to both of his arms, then
growling, brought them down again, now they were aflame.
Walking
to the demon's side, for he was still in slow motion, as was most of
the world, garland decided that the world wasn't moving slowly, he
was simply moving faster and perceiving everything with more clarity,
hence the reason he had perceived two instances of the shockwaves
earlier, his body was adjusting to the heightened sensory input and
trying to adapt.
Moving
behind the devil, he aimed a fist for its spine and punched with full
force, which to him felt like a normal blow, but to the demon it
would mean death.
Garland's
hand tore through the demon's back and easily broke his spine, the
demon spun about mid-swing, not intentionally, its body simply
spasmed and he was thrown to the side by the force of his attempted
assault combined with the sudden irrational jerking of his form.
Nodding,
garland turned to the priestess, who even now was staggering to her
feet, leaning on her weapon.
Walking
toward her, he grabbed the spear, tearing it from her grasp.
The
dragon, having recovered from the shock of watching the demon assault
her mistress, was even now racing toward them, snarling angrily as
the devil it was ordered to capture neared the high priestess.
Grabbing
the priestess by the throat, he lifted her up.
She
muttered a prayer then, and garland rolled his eyes and held her up
as the dragon landed mere inches from them.
“release
her scum!!!” tiamat snarled.
“No,
I think I'll keep her, she may make for a wonderful hostage in such
an unreasonable situation.”
the
dragon growled hatefully, and garland found he didn't quite like the
taste of his own words.
Hostage
taking wasn't something he was familiar with, but he certainly didn't
respect the process, it was pretentious, aside from anything else,
and one could easily break the illusion of a hostage by giving up the
hostage, it was the hostage taker in a dire situation, not the other
way around, and only a coward took one.
With
a sigh he tossed her to the dragon's feet.
“get
her out of here, devils seem to be attacking your people, you should
worry about them, and less about me.”
“that...” the high priestess coughed “was zasalamel, an archdemon of incredible renown….you...you'd slay one of your own kind?”
he glanced to the demon, its body loosing a pool of blood blacker than night.
“that...” the high priestess coughed “was zasalamel, an archdemon of incredible renown….you...you'd slay one of your own kind?”
he glanced to the demon, its body loosing a pool of blood blacker than night.
Shrugging,
he held onto the spear. “I don't know anyone like that. And
besides...he struck me first.” he ran, doing his best to escape in
time for the two to recover and realize they should still be chasing
him.
A
small army formed in the lower reaches of the city, he passed
countless buildings and plazas filled with elves celebrating the
coming demise of a demon prince, all the while questioning just what
demons were in the context of this world, and how it was he was
supposedly one of them.
He
recalled that the clergy had called him the old wolf, perhaps that
was related to it, perhaps not.
He
suspected, however, that this was all an elaborate ruse by the actual
devil they fully intended to summon, and that he, garland, was a
victim of a long-standing sham of sorts, one that mateus had
apparently no interest in correcting.
Or
perhaps not? Perhaps he was this demon prince after all? It wouldn't
be the first secret his fool of a father had kept from him, and
certainly wouldn't be the last. Even so, for secrets, this was
extreme.
Confetti
flew in the air, music played, and at the edge of the celebrations
groups of holy knights milled about anxiously, seeking their prey.
The streets were thick with hundreds of elves praising their gods and
praying for the success of the coming sacrifice...his own.
Warily,
he moved into what he assumed to be a shop, the elf at the desk's
ears perked up and he shouted “welcome to the inn of ill omen!!
will you be staying long father?”
“Oh..no...um...how to say...I am being chased by the demon!! it has escaped the temple, murdered several members of the clergy and targets me with its curse!! is there a back door?”
“Oh..no...um...how to say...I am being chased by the demon!! it has escaped the temple, murdered several members of the clergy and targets me with its curse!! is there a back door?”
“well
yes!! what of the knights?” the innkeep asked, terrified.
“all
unaware, the demon took on a disguise the moment it left the temple,
even now it stalks me, seeking to do me in!! it's determined to
finish the job for some...confounded reason of sadism!!”
“this way father!! this way!!” the innkeep cried, and he ushered garland through a door leading into an alley.
“this way father!! this way!!” the innkeep cried, and he ushered garland through a door leading into an alley.
Content
that he'd found a safe avenue, he immediately climbed a ladder
leading to the rooftops, only to find tiamat making a pass.
With
an angry roar she turned, whipping about.
Garland
still had the high priestess's spear, though he knew not if throwing
it was a particularly good idea.
He'd
seen it, or at least assumed, that it could fire bolts of
electricity, and was thus determined to see if perhaps that could do
the job he needed, holding the spear aloft, he made as though he was
about the throw it and pushed it forward
nothing.
“damned
magic...” he cursed, thinking to just throw the spear and be done
with it.
Just
then dainslief appeared on the tiled roof, slowly advancing toward
him.
“Oh,
dainslief. Foot all better?” garland asked.
“Yep,
one could say it was a miracle.” dainslief replied dryly, and the
two shared a nervous chuckle as they squared off uneasily.
“I
must say….I like you.” garland admitted.
“don't
make my job harder for me kid. I don't really feel like doing it, but
the boss has spoken.” he gestured toward the high priestess atop
the dragon.
“come
quietly and I suppose they'll make it quick..I don't bloody know.
Just...do whatever.”
“alright, well...erm...” he considered his choices then, he had a few, his newfound strength and perception would surely aid him, but he sensed that it would do little good against this particular opponent.
“alright, well...erm...” he considered his choices then, he had a few, his newfound strength and perception would surely aid him, but he sensed that it would do little good against this particular opponent.
Dainslief
didn't seem a pushover.
Or
even an elite.
He
seemed far above that level of talent for a swordsman.
Meaning
that, even with enhanced strength and speed, garland stood little
chance against him.
“OH
heavens!! look there!! what is that abomination!!” garland cried,
and dainslief, confused, glanced behind him.
Garland
couldn't stop laughing as he fled, all the while the high priestess's
frustrated scream all but rent the air asunder as the dragon, sensing
the danger atop her back, immediately gave chase, all the while
dainslief kept looking around asking “what is it?”
almost at the gates, he immediately saw a small army gathering before them and gritting his teeth, he leaped into the air, higher than he'd wished, and aimed the spear at the group.
almost at the gates, he immediately saw a small army gathering before them and gritting his teeth, he leaped into the air, higher than he'd wished, and aimed the spear at the group.
It
occurred to garland that, given his unnatural strength and speed, he
should perhaps make up an attack name for the sake of looking cool,
entirely for vanity reasons of course, and even then he envisioned
the spear striking the group with force enough to create a small
explosion of force that would scatter them.
And
so when he shouted “Raging Wolf Drive!” none of the knights
stationed at the gates seemed to know what to make of the shout,
until that is, he and the spear came flying at them, him barely
holding on, for he'd flung the spear forward as though to throw it,
only to grip the handle more tightly when he realized he'd still need
it for general melee.
Instead
the force of the thrust was significant enough to send him flying
with the spear and both came crashing into the group with a shockwave
of electricity that sent them all flying in every direction.
Not
one to double check his blessings, he took up the spear and crashed
through the heavy wooden gates, which gave like paper before his
newfound might, all the while the guards panicked and cried out,
thinking to perhaps stop him before he fled.
The
angry cries of the high priestess were a guilty pleasure for garland
then, he wasn't the sort of person who enjoyed making enemies, and so
he continued to feel bad that he'd been forced to make one in an
entire faith this unfortunate day.
But
he wasn't in the humor to give the matter much thought, perhaps when
celebrations ended and perhaps when he'd found a place to collect his
thoughts, he might make amends to this church or find the means to
reconcile with them, for surely this was all a misunderstanding, and
if what dainslief had said about resurrection spells was true, then
surely he'd done no lasting damage.
Of
course, the demon immediately rose to his thoughts, why was a demon
attacking someone known to be a demon? Was it sent by someone? That
seemed the most likely choice, but then...by whom?
He
raced down the green pastures beyond the city at frightening speeds,
though to him the whole landscape was passing by normally. And he
wondered just where he'd found himself, and why it was he'd been
summoned like this?
Eventually
he found a peaceful place to rest beneath a great oak surrounded by
diminutive winged humanoids no bigger than his finger, he immediately
recognized them as fairies, though he knew not how they were real, or
if any of this was real.
His
thoughts swam about as he watched them flutter, their wings glowing
in the evening gloom as an ocean of stars slowly swam into view
overhead, revealed by the receding dress of the sun as she gently
sank to her satin bed to be with her lover, the moon.
He
watched this new world, the faint crackle of the high priestess's
spear glowing in the dark and illuminating his stern features as he
came to terms with all that had happened.
But
he hadn't the faintest idea of where he was, or how to get back home.
Moreover,
he wasn't entirely convinced he wanted to return home, for compared
to this...newness! Home was quite dull indeed.
Chapter
4
The
lessons of the forest begin.
Before
the aurora, the man was like a specter of death, a looming shadow in
the evening light.
His
eyes glowed a pale red as he looked down upon Lurion, not uttering a
sound, he reached down and picked him up by the arm.
The
chill wind was calm, but bit furiously into his skin wherever the
figure touched him, and as he stared into those eyes, the dull
crimson irises glowing like smoldering embers, he felt that death
would be preferable to meeting that gaze on any other day.
“My
son, a dragon, yet so….so far away from your true potential.” he
muttered. “someday son, you will wake up and find yourself a
stranger in a strange land, without ever really knowing why. When
that day arrives….dry your tears, offer no prayers to the gods,
move forward, and do not look back, lest you forget who it is you
truly are….WAKE UP!!!”
Garland's eyes snapped open
just as a pair of fairies giggled and flew behind some shrubs and
foliage, their prank apparently having been a success.
Garland didn't see the
painting on his face from the berry juices they'd mixed together, but
he wouldn't have cared.
Garland's ego was, in a sense,
bordering nonexistent, his sense of self and his ego had deteriorated
to a bare shell since his childhood, he barely did anything on earth,
he sat in libraries that would host him, surfing the internet and
mulling over the tedium of existence. Oh he held jobs of course, but
he was undeniably a vagrant in the human world, and now, here in the
elven and fairy world, he was surely worse than a mere parasite on
society.
No...not a parasite, he
thought as he rubbed his face, noting the red smear and rolling his
eyes before cursing “gods damned fairies.” and seeking out the
closest source of water he could find.
In his world, the economy was
crumbling due to world war three, the president had launched a
preemptive attack on syria, leading to china panicking and sending a
force down to north korea to bar refugees when north korea inevitably
garnered the ire of the newest president.
What followed was...a nuclear
exchange...the first in history. North korea launched a missile on
the nearest chinese city, and from there the US intervened on china's
behalf.
Together the two nations
stormed north korea.
Of course, then russia became
involved, and shortly thereafter another nuclear exchange was had,
but this one was brief, and very devastating.
An area of washington DC was
struck, and then the US responded by launching their own nukes, but
on top of that they sent their full military force into russia, with
china and many other nations backing the effort due to russia's
newfound belligerence.
And so world war three had
begun in earnest, with most large nations siding with china and the
US and many lesser nations siding with russia.
It was around this time that
garland had gone to sleep on a couch at a friend's home, and awoke a
sacrifice in a temple.
He wasn't certain, but he had
an idea that the timing of his summoning was no coincidence. Garland
knew little of his lineage, but he'd met his father, and he had the
distinct feeling his father was a dangerous character, perhaps not
even human.
As he mulled over the
possibility that his father had somehow been involved, a pair of
fairies brought a small wooden bowl, three of them held it aloft and
set it down at his feet.
It was filled with water, and
he eyed the bowl warily, but decided that if he broke out in a rash
due to the water being tainted, it wouldn't be so bad as the mess on
his face in dire need of washing.
Taking care to wash the
mixture off, he rose to his feet and took in the surroundings while
the fairies settled on his shoulders, picking at his hair and
studying his ears and facial features.
He didn't respond to their
poking and prodding, too intent on the forest.
The roads were in plain view,
barely a few dozen yards away, elves were busy traveling via carts
and coming and going in droves. The landscape beyond the roads were
littered with farms, but the pastures weren't cleared out, if
anything they were mixed with the forest, and only identifiable by
the fences surrounding them.
He looked to the forest.
The trees were massive, moreso
than any forest he was familiar with, their trunks alone were the
size of small houses and their boughs formed roads, in fact he could
see people high above traveling the trees, having formed actual roads
on their branches.
While there was no apparent
way up or down, the elves didn't seem to have much trouble getting
up, indeed, one made his way toward the forest, eying garland for a
second before bowing respectfully, no doubt assuming him to be a
pastor for god, and then he leaped with incredible strength, easily
clearing the thirty foot distance in a single bound and landing
safely and gingerly atop a “roadway branch”
these branches formed a vast
complex network all about the canopy, and garland had to admit, he
was impressed with how at peace with nature the elves were.
But he had more pressing
matters to consider.
With a yawn he moved to the
roads, noting that the number of carts was considerably higher, there
was virtually no foot traffic passing him as he made his way as far
away from the city as he could.
The first day of walking
wasn't particularly troubling, the fairies remained on his shoulders,
and when the elves noted him with them riding him, they seemed
impressed and sometimes offered him prayers or shouts of approval.
While he tried to converse
with them, he found that the fairies didn't speak his language at
all, even if they sympathized in the universal tongue of body
language.
Rather than be put off
however, he assumed that his newfound companions would simply be
riding his shoulders for as long as they deemed it necessary.
The next day they decided It
was time to leave, and they offered him a shout of farewell and what
he assumed was encouragement before fluttering away.
He waved, but deep down
inside, he simply didn't care.
Something was nagging at him,
and being in this peculiar world wasn't brushing that feeling that
something was amiss away.
Of course that was likely the
something that was amiss.
His stomach grumbling soon
clued him in, and he noted that he hadn't “felt” hungry every
since he got here.
Normally when he was hungry he
would feel awash with fatigue and his stomach would feel as though it
was filled with hot coals threatening to turn his insides to dust,
now however he felt no strain from hunger, he hadn't even noticed
he'd not eaten or wanted to eat for a while.
But he wasn't sure exactly how
one hunted, or even how to cook.
No doubt if he were to try
cooking over a campfire, he would soon be met with opposition from
the elves, for elves were nature lovers, at least according to his
understanding of them from fantasy novels, indeed they were also
xenophobic, and there was even a race that enslaved all other races
and lived on flying dragonships!!
fantasy literature aside,
garland realized he'd need to hunt something, he hadn't the slightest
idea what was or wasn't edible, but he needed food, even if he didn't
feel particularly hungry.
Deciding it was high time to
test his newfound strength and stamina, he left for the nearby forest
and- finding a sapling, carefully aimed at it and launched a punch
with full force.
The sapling shattered beneath
the blow as though it were made of foam atop a mug of ale, and he
stared blankly at his fist, trying to reconcile this new truth with
what he knew of his considerable limits.
He was a weakling on earth,
always had been, a worthless sort of person with barely the strength
to go for a walk, though he wasn't heavy, he wasn't fit either, and
this was due in large part to his flat-footedness. His feet lacked an
arch, and so he couldn't run without crippling himself for a few
days.
Here however, in this world,
his body was undergoing some manner of change, or perhaps it was
merely gravity was less in this world?
He considered that argument,
taking a stone and dropping it.
The stone seemed to be what he
would consider a normal sized one, and it felt heavy enough in his
hand, when he dropped it, it fell normally, landing with a soft huff
onto the thick carpet of grass and moss at his feet.
Just then, a naked woman with
green skin emerged from the sapling he'd sundered, looking positively
livid.
Snarling she pushed him back
and away, and he held up his hands defensively as she gestured to the
sapling, speaking a strange tongue he didn't know.
Confused, he stared at her as
she shouted at him, gesturing to the sapling.
Perhaps she was accusing him?
Gritting her teeth she
summoned a blade of emerald energy from that air and moved to attack
him, the blade sliced the air before him as he backed away, unsure of
what to do.
As he danced back, more green
skinned humanoids emerged from the trees, sleepily blinking and
watching the exchange, as they did so one of them, a bearded fellow
with antlers, stopped the maiden and turned to face garland.
“she says you injured her
tree...is this true young one?”
“I….I did….forgive me I….I wasn't...I had no idea these were your homes-”
“Homes?” the ent replied in surprise. “Boy those are our bodies!! you crippled my syena as surely as if you punched her yourself!”
“How...how might I make amends? I truly did not know!”
“Normally...” he began, pushing the maiden behind him as he turned to face garland, looking him over carefully. “we would demand you repair the tree with green magic...but you don't look to be a hydalian. What are you then? How is it you do not know of my kind?”
“I am garland...a human.”
that sent a gasp of shock from the ents and he realized that it wasn't a good thing to be human right now.
“I….I did….forgive me I….I wasn't...I had no idea these were your homes-”
“Homes?” the ent replied in surprise. “Boy those are our bodies!! you crippled my syena as surely as if you punched her yourself!”
“How...how might I make amends? I truly did not know!”
“Normally...” he began, pushing the maiden behind him as he turned to face garland, looking him over carefully. “we would demand you repair the tree with green magic...but you don't look to be a hydalian. What are you then? How is it you do not know of my kind?”
“I am garland...a human.”
that sent a gasp of shock from the ents and he realized that it wasn't a good thing to be human right now.
“Balderdash, your kind went
extinct years ago! no- centuries ago!! mateus killed the lot of
you!”
“I wouldn't know anything about that sir.” garland replied. “i was summoned here from another world as a sacrifice to this...mateus. In my world there are no spirits living in trees...or fairies...or hydalians.” (he wanted to say elf, but decided that perhaps political correctness was called for in a foreign world)
“spirits he calls us! Hah! How very human!” the ent fell over the word “Human” in an accusing manner but let the matter drop.
“I wouldn't know anything about that sir.” garland replied. “i was summoned here from another world as a sacrifice to this...mateus. In my world there are no spirits living in trees...or fairies...or hydalians.” (he wanted to say elf, but decided that perhaps political correctness was called for in a foreign world)
“spirits he calls us! Hah! How very human!” the ent fell over the word “Human” in an accusing manner but let the matter drop.
“alright then human, you are
to be our prisoner.”
“for what purpose?” garland asked, bristling.
“for what purpose?” garland asked, bristling.
“we shall teach you the ways
of green magic and this world, as you call it. If you were indeed
summoned from another world you will doubtless cause trouble here
without intending. In exchange for our teachings we shall take from
you a stipend of time and freedom from you. If you refuse...well...I
suppose you will refuse. We will have great disdain for you, but you
are free to leave and never enter our forests again. At least not
without battling our kind, and wouldn't you know it? Forests account
for most of the world!” the ent grinned.
“I see no problem with
waging endless battle.” garland replied coldly and it was the ent's
turn to be surprised by the comment.
“I would reconsider your
words with great care-”
“Let me be clear here tree spirit.” garland continued. “those who threaten my freedom for any reasons become my enemy no matter what. Those who are my enemy have absolutely no right to have a hold of any sort over me. You consider your offer reasonable and expect a willing servant out of me, a stipend of time and freedom, now a rational person, be he man or elf (he was too livid to be politically correct) would positively leap at that offer when the threat of being forced out of the world's forests was the alternative. I on the other hand, would burn the forests to the ground to spite you for the mere act of making such a bargain. So tree spirit, I highly suggest you reconsider just what sort of person it is you think you're speaking to. I can be rational, but I will not be if my freedom is taken for granted. But i'm open to continued bargaining if you retract your threat.”
“and if you do not retract yours?” the ent asked, growing angry.
“Let me be clear here tree spirit.” garland continued. “those who threaten my freedom for any reasons become my enemy no matter what. Those who are my enemy have absolutely no right to have a hold of any sort over me. You consider your offer reasonable and expect a willing servant out of me, a stipend of time and freedom, now a rational person, be he man or elf (he was too livid to be politically correct) would positively leap at that offer when the threat of being forced out of the world's forests was the alternative. I on the other hand, would burn the forests to the ground to spite you for the mere act of making such a bargain. So tree spirit, I highly suggest you reconsider just what sort of person it is you think you're speaking to. I can be rational, but I will not be if my freedom is taken for granted. But i'm open to continued bargaining if you retract your threat.”
“and if you do not retract yours?” the ent asked, growing angry.
He went pale when he saw
garland's eyes narrow, almost too murderously to belong to any human,
and the ent did not doubt that this human before him would
deliberately pick the path of the most resistance for the sheer
pleasure of spitting on his offer for the sake of his pride.
“Perhaps I was being…..too
callous.” the ent said warily and syrena practically screamed at
him.
He lifted a hand to silence
her.
“then our offer will be
changed. You are free to come and go through our forests, and we
shall not do you harm, but we shall not aid you either, should you
refuse us. However If you wish to perhaps make amends...we would ask
you pay a price of time and freedom in order to learn more and repair
my daughter's tree.”
“then.” garland bowed. “I humbly accept your generous offer of tutelage.
“then.” garland bowed. “I humbly accept your generous offer of tutelage.
The ent breathed a sigh of
relief at this, glad to at least be making some headway on the matter
of his daughter's broken tree.
“we are known as the macha,
ents the hydalians call us. “tree spirits” as you call us. We are
extensions of the trees we call home, they are our bodies, and what
you see is our soul given a form and image. For ten winters you will
live among us and serve the grove, ten years human, within that time
we shall teach you our tongue, teach you our ways, teach you what we
know of the world, and when the hydalians come inquiring about their
sacrifice...” he turned to syena “we shall keep silent on your
presence here. You will repair my daughter's tree before it
dies.”
“what happens if it dies?” garland asked and the ent stared at him for a few moments as though the answer was obvious.
“what happens if it dies?” garland asked and the ent stared at him for a few moments as though the answer was obvious.
“and...you show no
concern?”
“it will take weeks for the trauma to her tree to kill it. I give you one to learn the basic repairing magicks and heal her tree. If, within that time it dies….she dies. But do not think that for us, death is the end. Our kind are reborn, and very, very long lived. This is my fifty-thousandth life cycle here. I am known as Par-Salain, the tree of wisdom, and my people, as you may have guessed, number in the thousands.”
“it will take weeks for the trauma to her tree to kill it. I give you one to learn the basic repairing magicks and heal her tree. If, within that time it dies….she dies. But do not think that for us, death is the end. Our kind are reborn, and very, very long lived. This is my fifty-thousandth life cycle here. I am known as Par-Salain, the tree of wisdom, and my people, as you may have guessed, number in the thousands.”
Garland began his lessons for
the next two days, learning from par directly, but his understanding
of magic was so limited that par ended up repairing the damage to
syena himself to be safe before continuing.
“you shall instead mend her
back to full health.” he explained. “had I known you were so
difficult to teach spells to, I would've done this sooner.”
“My apologies.” garland said, his eyes downcast by this failure, for the past two days par had been trying to teach him how to reach into the earth and speak to the life-force, but garland hadn't the slightest idea what that even meant.
“My apologies.” garland said, his eyes downcast by this failure, for the past two days par had been trying to teach him how to reach into the earth and speak to the life-force, but garland hadn't the slightest idea what that even meant.
“we shall begin as a sapling
would, with meditation. You are to sit and remain silent for half a
day.”
“I need to eat.” garland said in protest but par held up a hand. “you will be brought food shortly, we have two ari trees who've just borne fruit. You shall devour those for the time.”
“are you...alright with that?” he asked and the ent laughed. “come now boy!! it is how we reproduce, you fleshlings devour the meat of our fruit and cast the seeds, and they delve into the soil over time while our souls, adrift as they are in the lifestream, find one and inhabit it!”
“I need to eat.” garland said in protest but par held up a hand. “you will be brought food shortly, we have two ari trees who've just borne fruit. You shall devour those for the time.”
“are you...alright with that?” he asked and the ent laughed. “come now boy!! it is how we reproduce, you fleshlings devour the meat of our fruit and cast the seeds, and they delve into the soil over time while our souls, adrift as they are in the lifestream, find one and inhabit it!”
“your kind seem very attuned
to life after death.” he noted.
“all plants are. It's you
fleshlings who are always confused. We plants and plantkin are life
incarnate, we are the wheel of life and death, and enlightened to it
we are!! meditate, food will come shortly.”
garland did precisely that, deciding that perhaps learning magic would be beneficial to his survival on this strange new world.
garland did precisely that, deciding that perhaps learning magic would be beneficial to his survival on this strange new world.
Chapter 5
Green magic
The ents were
uncharacteristically kind, he noted as he ate and maintained his
meditation.
They'd brought him to a
secluded grove deep inside the forest, here only a single beam of
light emerged through the canopy, spilling over a small shrine that
looked as though it could have been a shinto shrine, now a moss
coated relic in disrepair, the shimenawa over the front barely
holding.
How curious that a relic from
a culture in my world should be here! Garland had thought as he
observed it, for the design was unmistakably of the shinto faith.
Upon seeing this, he had
immediately assumed that perhaps this was a dream after all! But
quickly dismissed the notion, dreams weren't this convincing and
didn't feel quite so real.
No, if this was a dream, it
was surely a dream of the afterlife.
The ents claimed that humans
had settled in this forest hundreds of years ago, castoffs from a
different dimension, and that this shrine had been at the heart of a
small village, one mateus had personally cleansed when he had seen
them living here.
Something about the humans had
offended the god, that much was certain.
Here, the ents brought him
baskets of fruit, he ate sparingly, taking great pains to bury the
seeds when he was done.
The shrine was on an island at
the heart of a small pond, its surface thick with green aquatic mold.
Bugs, chiefly dragonflies, flew all around, and the thin beams of
sunlight that somehow squeezed their way into the canopies barely
offered any measure of light here.
Ten winters was the agreement,
a full ten years of life in this strange world, and so sitting at the
shinto shrine's entrance, garland meditated for the first half of the
day as bade, par instructed him to send his thoughts into the ground,
look for a light, but garland struggled with understanding the basic
concept.
He came from a world where
magic didn't exist, where men who were of faith were openly
ridiculed, a man who was religious minded ran the risk of being
disowned by society entirely.
So to garland, the idea was
hard to reconcile with what he knew of superstitions and faith, but
then again, he was summoned by an elven religious order as a
sacrifice, so perhaps this train of thought wasn't the most
convenient to hold at this time.
Leaves fell on the lake, only
to be assaulted by the fish that swam in the pond, the ents would
come by on stepping stones, their feet barely rustling the leaves or
making a sound as he settled there in meditation, reaching into the
ground with his thoughts, probing.
He thought of his father then
“Look
at them son, worthless animals, the lot of them!! they live as
squalid fiends, barely comprehending anything of importance or
value!” the tall shadowy figure said, motioning to the people
passing by on the streets, talking on cellphones or driving to work.
The tall skyscrapers of new york loomed overhead, like mighty
tombstones to some obscene deity that he couldn't fathom.
“they
disappoint me son. As well they should disappoint you!”
“why
should I care?” lurion asked angrily. “they're not our
problem!”
“that...is where you are wrong my son.” the shadow said, kneeling down to stare him in the eyes. “they, in their arrogance, would prey upon one another like cannibals, and they prey upon us as well!! never forget son, they are monsters to us!”
“that...is where you are wrong my son.” the shadow said, kneeling down to stare him in the eyes. “they, in their arrogance, would prey upon one another like cannibals, and they prey upon us as well!! never forget son, they are monsters to us!”
“it's
not my place to look down on them, why is it yours?!” lurion cried,
receiving a backhand from the shadow.
“because
if I do not judge them...who then will? Who else has the courage to
see the madness and put a stop to it?!”
“and
who puts a stop to you father?!” he cried out angrily.
“if
you knew what you were saying...”
“Garland, wake up!” Par
said, kneeling on his haunches to stare at him.
Blinking, garland glanced
about. “My apologies, I seemed to have dozed off.”
“it's part of the process. Many saplings enter dormant states during their sessions. It's perfectly fine..here-” he handed garland a bottle of crafted glass filled with water. “the lady of the heart of the forest wishes you to have it. It refills with an endless supply of water. If will prove useful to you, as the pond here-” he gestured to the pool surrounding the shrine- “Is unfit for drinking...the algae is breeding at this time, swallowing it is ill-advised.” standing he glanced around. “seems you eat slowly, strange, I was certain humans were far more ravenous than this.”
“ever since I came to this world, my appetite has dwindled and my strength increased dramatically, my senses have improved as well. Perhaps I am ill?”
“Illness seldom gives strength. No, I wonder if perhaps the hydalians were right to name you devil. Yet you insist you are human?”
“In my world, I was never this strong, I was comparable to humans. You say you met my kind?”
“Yes, they used to be a primary force on this world, numbering in the billions. But years upon years of garnering displeasure from the god of light ended miserably for them when he lost his patience and struck them all down. Years later a castoff group came to this very forest where they lived for some time. The hydalians caught wind of them and...”
he trailed off, and garland didn't need further explanation.
“it's part of the process. Many saplings enter dormant states during their sessions. It's perfectly fine..here-” he handed garland a bottle of crafted glass filled with water. “the lady of the heart of the forest wishes you to have it. It refills with an endless supply of water. If will prove useful to you, as the pond here-” he gestured to the pool surrounding the shrine- “Is unfit for drinking...the algae is breeding at this time, swallowing it is ill-advised.” standing he glanced around. “seems you eat slowly, strange, I was certain humans were far more ravenous than this.”
“ever since I came to this world, my appetite has dwindled and my strength increased dramatically, my senses have improved as well. Perhaps I am ill?”
“Illness seldom gives strength. No, I wonder if perhaps the hydalians were right to name you devil. Yet you insist you are human?”
“In my world, I was never this strong, I was comparable to humans. You say you met my kind?”
“Yes, they used to be a primary force on this world, numbering in the billions. But years upon years of garnering displeasure from the god of light ended miserably for them when he lost his patience and struck them all down. Years later a castoff group came to this very forest where they lived for some time. The hydalians caught wind of them and...”
he trailed off, and garland didn't need further explanation.
“for now I need you to help
with something. The second half of the service we require of you and
payment for your lessons, you are to help the grove out in small
ways. Here-” he handed garland a sack, glancing into it, he saw it
was filled with glowing gems.
“those are life-stones,
spread them at the roots of every tree, two per tree, continue this
until nightfall.”
with that he left, and garland shrugged and set about to work, taking care to not overlook even the smallest of saplings.
with that he left, and garland shrugged and set about to work, taking care to not overlook even the smallest of saplings.
He traveled along the paths,
dropping two gems down whenever he came across a tree, which was
every step he took. The sack refilled continually, and to his credit,
he maintained the pace, easily setting gems around six hundred trees
before the day was finished.
Once the sun set, par returned
and took the sack. “you may return to your shrine now, get some
rest and begin the day with meditation as we've discussed.
The next day was much the
same, he awoke, and normally he expected that he would immediately
need to use the restroom.
To his surprise, the urge was
nonexistent.
“I am becoming like these
trees.” he lamented. “as still as stone, yet alive and barely
able to do anything save grow and shed my leaves!” a panic fell
over him, his needs were diminishing with the passing of every day,
but without need...what urgency to life would there be? To his
thinking, needs were a way to establish purpose, without need there
was no do, without doing there was no animation, no point really. One
could literally sit in one place for all eternity and not budge and
it would be the same.
No, he reasoned, the trees
live, and if their sentience as ents is any indication, they seem
perfectly at peace with their immobility.
He began his meditation with
the usual haze of worries and fears swimming across his thoughts like
angry koi fish, or perhaps a swarm of buzzing gnats flying about in
stinging, annoying clouds in the summer heat.
In his unsettled condition, he
reflected on another parental figure…
she
stood there, arms crossed as she stared down at him, her eyes glowed
too, but these glowed a soft gold, as opposed to HIS crimson.'
“tell
me what happened.” she bade.'
“He….he
wants to kill them all.” lurion replied.
“he
wants to kill them all because he has the wits of a utilitarian and
none of the creativity needed. He is right to despise them of course,
humans are monstrous..but then..so is every beast. If we are to judge
them, where do we then stand?” she shrugged. “quit thinking about
it the way he does. Quit thinking about such small, trivial matters,
let your father simmer and fume, it is his choice and we've no right
to change his mind on the matter.”
“what if I want to stop him!?” lurion cried.
“what if I want to stop him!?” lurion cried.
“oh
then by all means try! But enough of this.” she picked him up and
carried him to her bed.
“I'm
not tired.” he grumbled.
“no,
of course not. But you need to rest all the same. All humans do.”
“am I human?” he asked.
“am I human?” he asked.
She
frowned at that, “Perhaps you are. What then? Will you fight in
humanity's defense? Will you battle for the beasts that dared to
upset your father so?”
“Maybe I will! He doesn't deserve to be around them if he's so cruel!”
“Ah, you must really hate him! But do not be sad, my son...someday...someday you will miss your father dearly when he's gone!”
“No! I don't need a father, or a mother! I don't need mankind or anyone!! if people like him get to judge anyone at the drop of a hat, if he can force his expectations on people like that, then i'd rather stand alone...forever!!”
“Maybe I will! He doesn't deserve to be around them if he's so cruel!”
“Ah, you must really hate him! But do not be sad, my son...someday...someday you will miss your father dearly when he's gone!”
“No! I don't need a father, or a mother! I don't need mankind or anyone!! if people like him get to judge anyone at the drop of a hat, if he can force his expectations on people like that, then i'd rather stand alone...forever!!”
“forever….”
she whispered, stroking his hair as she looked deep into his eyes “is
a frightfully long time, my son.”
“I'll stand alone forever!” lurion shouted. “I don't need anyone!! I don't need anything!! I'll fight the world!! better to be the world's enemy than to be looked down on by all the people in it!! I refuse to carry the weight of the world like those humans and my father seem intent on doing, I won't share that burden!! I won't!!”
she nodded. “I suppose you've every right to reject your fate...but perhaps you will change your tune when faced with the reality?”
“I'll stand alone forever!” lurion shouted. “I don't need anyone!! I don't need anything!! I'll fight the world!! better to be the world's enemy than to be looked down on by all the people in it!! I refuse to carry the weight of the world like those humans and my father seem intent on doing, I won't share that burden!! I won't!!”
she nodded. “I suppose you've every right to reject your fate...but perhaps you will change your tune when faced with the reality?”
Garland opened his eyes.
“Forever….is a frightfully
long time..hm?”
He hardly remembered anything about his mother and father, let alone what they looked like. Reflecting on them revealed precious little about what they were, why they had a decidedly anti-human view, or why it was he had considered them human at all.
He hardly remembered anything about his mother and father, let alone what they looked like. Reflecting on them revealed precious little about what they were, why they had a decidedly anti-human view, or why it was he had considered them human at all.
Was he human? All evidence
before his arrival on this world seemed to indicate that he was quite
human, but his newfound strength, stamina, and the steady decline of
his needs had begun to convince him that he wasn't human at all.
Perhaps he was a demon after
all?
Garland mulled that over then
faced himself with another, more daunting question.
Why was he subjecting himself
to this?
He then settled on an answer,
his conscience wouldn't let him avoid it. He'd wronged someone, and
while he was fiercely independent and loathe to be bound to anything,
debts included, garland didn't like hurting others, especially if the
wounding was unintentional.
When par returned with the
sack of gems, garland's first stop was to syena's tree.
Ten years was not so long to
repay a debt owed to a victim of his own foolishness, he decided as
he gingerly placed two gems at her roots.
Syena then appeared, arms
crossed as she glared at him, with a humble bow he turned away,
stalking through the forest and continuing his duty to the grove
without complaint.
The next four weeks weren't
especially fruitful, his meditation often led to sleep, or worse,
nightmares, but finally, one morning, he managed to catch something.
It was tangible, as though
there was a green river of light below him and some invisible part of
him was touching it.
He felt it pulse, flow and
writhe beneath that invisible hand he extended into the ground, and
without thinking, he lifted it up to inspect it.
Hearing the ground explode all
around him, his eyes snapped open in alarm, and he found himself
surrounded by newborn trees and vines, one had actually pierced the
roof of the shinto shrine behind him as it rose from the ground, and
to his delight, he realized he'd summoned green magic for the first
time in his life.
Par came to the shrine to find
garland inspecting the trees he'd summoned, and with a smile he set
down the basket of fruit.
“empty shells.” he
explained. “More like spears or weapons to our kind, we cannot
inhabit them, as they did not begin as seeds. They are trees without
us ents in them.”
he stroked his green beard as
he looked over the saplings and trees. “a good first attempt, these
will last several decades before they deteriorate. Tomorrow you will
begin the next phase of your training, learning how to shape wood.
With that knowledge you will finish repairing my daughter,
agreed?”
“of course.” garland said with a bow, and par left him the sack of gems and the unspoken command.
“of course.” garland said with a bow, and par left him the sack of gems and the unspoken command.
Garland would continue the day
spreading the life gems all around the forest, two per tree, until
evening.
This time he'd spread them to
well over a thousand before the day had ended.
Chapter 6
Dark Priest Xande
He
watched as the two men squared off with the homeless man, his father
held him tight, preventing him from rushing to the elderly man's
defense as the two men, gang members he would later find out, beat
the fool senseless.
“Look
well upon it my son, there is not a single person in this group who
is not a victim and villain.” he explained as the two gang members
struck out, beating the man half to death.
The
homeless man pulled a gun halfway into the beating and fired off a
shot, screaming in some manner of deranged gibberish.
The
remaining gang member fled through the streets, but not before being
shot in the back as he fled.
The
homeless man, in his fury, then turned on lurion and his father.
“A
pity, though he wasn't worth the breath he drew, he still lived.”
lurion's father lamented, and with a wave of his hand the homeless
man burst into flame.
“father
what did you do?!” lurion cried.
“did
you not see him? He would have killed us both, his wits were gone in
any case. That man was so addicted to drugs that he attacked a
younger member of those people's gang in order to rob him, these two
were dispensing their own twisted form of justice...and look at them
now...hm.” he nodded as he gestured to the two corpses littering
the alley.
“this
is mankind, my son. Abandon all delusions of reason from the human
race now. Humanity are devils, to them, those positive emotions you
love so much are but a fretful convenience at best. They do not care
for you, they do not even care for one another save when they've the
luxury to do so. No son, give men nothing, and they will begin to
take, teach a man violence, and he will learn to hate. This is the
true shape of men, lurion...devils...the lot of them, eventually they
may become mighty demons if they continue down this path...and I
wonder what you will say in their defense then? Will you perhaps
bring up the necessity of their actions? Do not make me laugh. Those
gang members are just as vile as that vagrant they were beating,
there were no true victims here, only animals, scrabbling for
senseless purpose in a world bereft of it. I wonder….is this the
world you crave little one? A world of….”freedom?” his father
began to laugh at that, a cold, haunting sound that rang melodiously
across the brick walls of the buildings keeping this small alley
encased in frigid shadow.
The
dead remained even as his father dragged him into the snowy streets
of new york.
“Never
forget this lesson, my son. Men are not worthy of you, or me..they
will live and die alone, surrounded by the eternal pretense of social
and cultural values, but eternally isolated from one another. Family?
Friendship? All alternative names for business arrangements,
pretentious nonsense dropped at the first sign of tro-” lurion
pulled away from him.
“You
don't understand anything!!” he yelled, and he fled through the
crowds while his father watched on, impassively.
All
around him the faces of complete strangers stared onward, empty,
hollow, devoid of life, forever trapped in the merciless cycle of
society, a self-feeding abyss of nothingness enforced on pain of
death.
He
saw their faces for what they truly were then, masks, masks being
worn to defend the facade of social cooperation, masks meant to
sustain simple survival.
“you're
wrong!” lurion shouted as he raced through the streets. “they're
more than that!!”
“But they weren't, were they
lurion?” garland asked as he awoke, barely cognizant enough to halt
his own words as he spoke of the past self, almost as if “Lurion”
were another person.
“In the end they warred with
themselves on a planetary scale a third time. A third time with
weapons so powerful...they surely doomed the world….world war
three...nuclear annihilation. What good was your faith in men, little
pup? What use was your hope for the good of men when the good of men
may well have never existed at all?”
he muttered this as he rose, shaking off a day's worth of sleep.
he muttered this as he rose, shaking off a day's worth of sleep.
Ten years had passed, yet
garland hadn't aged, he had, however, learned a substantial amount
about alendarc, the world he was in.
alendarc was the realm of
magic, a realm where dreams became reality.
Over ten years garland had
meditated, had trained, and had ultimately acquired a modest
understanding of green magic, the power to manipulate and summon
plantlife at will.
But this green magic wasn't
useful in battle.
Syena's tree had been mended
five years ago, but garland didn't care about that any longer.
In truth, garland's thoughts
turned to home, earth, the world that was surely a nuclear wasteland
by now, and if it wasn't, it was surely in bad shape.
Garland couldn't imagine that
humans, who couldn't stop killing one another for over two thousand
years, could hope for anything resembling a happy ending, and he no
longer thought of them as anything other than beasts.
With the tenth year ended on
this very day, garland had no further reason to be here. He'd learned
all he could from the ents, and he departed the forest before they
could see him off.
Over the past ten years his
appetite had diminished, fading away entirely. He'd taken time to
explore his body, and found that its supernatural strengths had been
coupled with an almost complete removal of his needs.
He no longer ate, save once or
twice a month, and even then food didn't seem to sustain him anymore,
his body remained whole, never deteriorating, never aging.
Ten years was not so long, but
garland, once twenty five, was now in his mid-thirties, what should
have been a milestone was little more than a simple acknowledgment
that he'd aged at all, and he barely felt any older.
Perhaps it was his presence in
this world? Or perhaps he needed to accept that he was never human to
begin with, and that his human weaknesses had been exclusive to his
time on earth.
No matter.
Without thinking, he headed
for the city of dimmery for a rematch against the temple of mateus,
he felt the need to settle a score with them, perhaps for vengeance,
or perhaps he could bury the hatchet?
The moment the thought left
his mind however, he instead turned away.
His daily routine in the grove
had been maintained for ten years, ten years of doing the same thing
over and over, meditate, train in basic green magic spells, tend to
the grove.
On it had gone for ten years,
ten years spent wholly on one set of daily actions.
Garland wanted nothing to do
with the city of elves, he left, barely aware that his black coat was
frayed, his pants tattered, his boots stained.
Ten years without replacing
his clothing, ten years locked in a sort of behavioral stasis, had
taken its toll on his apparel.
He didn't care.
Before he could leave however,
the two fairies he'd met earlier came up to him and chanted words of
power he recognized as some manner of spell.
Casting a pair of luminous
orbs at him, his body was engulfed in a curious light, and he stood
there, glancing at his frame as their magic went to work, mending and
enhancing his clothing.
His coat was restored, the
tatters and fraying at the bottom now resembling bat-wing tips, the
zipper had been replaced with a golden fringe, and the buckles were
now shaped like moons and could no longer be connected.
The shoulder pads now had a
set of silver pauldrons that were affixed with glowing crimson sigils
that he would later discover cast basic barrier spells around him to
keep him dry during the rain.
His boots had undergone the
more drastic change, the metal plates, rusted and deteriorated as
they'd been, were now wolf-faced emblems etched onto each strap
hooking over the front of the boot, each wolf face glowed a dull red.
The strap's edges now
resembled bat-wings, and the bottoms had been completely restored.
His pants had been mended
entirely and a gold chain spilled over one of the pockets, looping
around his front to hang as an ornament of sorts, from this chain
several small bead chains hung loosely, each one affixed with what
resembled a spell tag.
His shirt was more or less
unchanged, though his ascot was now crimson instead of black, the
collar of his shirt was a bit higher and laced with gold.
He looked to the fairies for
an explanation, but they simply giggled and fled, and after
inspecting his restored clothing, he gave a sigh and decided that
they'd simply helped him out of the goodness of their hearts.
Tricksters or no, they seemed amicable enough.
Taking off the coat, he noted
that there was a glowing red image on the back of the coat, the face
of a dragon.
Shrugging he put the coat back
on and left, wondering where he should go next. Dimmery seemed a
reasonable start if he wanted answers, but he would doubtless meet
resistance from the locals if he tried.
All the same, perhaps
discovering who had given the fanatics the means to summon him would
bring him closer to resolving the mystery of why he was even here.
Torn between purpose and the
desire to simply wander, he reluctantly began the journey to dimmery,
ready for a fight should it come to that.
Despite his efforts, par
managed to find him just as he was exiting the forest, and the ent
stopped him.
“where will you go?” he
asked.
Garland shrugged. “I wish to
sate my curiosity. I'm heading back to the temple, where I was
summoned. It is my hope to infiltrate the city unnoticed and gather
information.”
“Be careful if you must enter, as you are well aware, elves came to the ents seeking you out. They found little of course, to convince them of your presence here, but they were very determined to have you.”
“sounds like their problem, not mine.”
The ent thrust a maple staff out toward him.
“Be careful if you must enter, as you are well aware, elves came to the ents seeking you out. They found little of course, to convince them of your presence here, but they were very determined to have you.”
“sounds like their problem, not mine.”
The ent thrust a maple staff out toward him.
“with this, you are now a
green mage. You have come to understand our people over the ten years
you've spent here. At my behest, the fairies Palom and Porom have
enchanted your clothing to ensure it doesn't wear down again.”
“I confess, I find the alterations they made...quite fetching.” garland replied, taking the staff and looking it over.
“I confess, I find the alterations they made...quite fetching.” garland replied, taking the staff and looking it over.
“walk with care, you will be
in danger if you return to the elves. No doubt they will hope to
finish what they began. You have been a friend to us and- where are
you going?” garland didn't bother sticking around to listen to
par-salain finish his speech about friendship and debts owed, it
wasn't his way, he loathed such speeches, seeing them as pretentious
nonsense.
“Know that you have allies
in us, lone wolf!! do not turn away from our kinship!!” par called
out after him, but garland wasn't listening.
He loathed the idea of being
friends with anyone, this had been a business matter, and little
else, and while he relished in helping the ents, he didn't wish to
burden them with his presence any longer.
He had no intention of ever
returning to their grove.
He didn't want to feel the
inevitable sting of betrayal when they turned on him out of
convenience.
Just like…."they" had done…
he arrived at the gates to
dimmery mere days later, he wore a hood to conceal his features. One
of the alterations to his attire was the presence of a face mask, and
he made it a point to combine it with his hood to fully mask his
features. His clothing was close enough to elven priest clothing that he wouldn't be
immediately recognized as “the demon” but he was wary of the
elves nonetheless.
Still when he entered they
addressed him as “father” once more mistaking him for a pastor of
the luminaire faith, he made it through the gates, one hand gripping
the staff as he tapped it against the cobblestones, weaving through
the crowds of elves on their way to work, or perhaps to the markets,
another hand folded behind his back while his eyes settled on the
temple, it practically dominated the entire skyline on one side of
the city, so vast was it that garland hardly understood how he'd ever
managed to escape the thing.
And now he was going to be
returning to the summoning room to inspect the circle, assuming it
remained.
As he walked, a guard walked
up to him and, saluting said “sir, we have need of you!! please
come this way!!”
“For what purpose?” garland asked, irritated.
“For what purpose?” garland asked, irritated.
“we need a healer sir!!”
“I am ill-taught in the ways of healing magicks. For whatever reasons my capacity to use them was stunted.”
“and..you are a pastor of the faith sir?” the guard asked, shocked.
“I am ill-taught in the ways of healing magicks. For whatever reasons my capacity to use them was stunted.”
“and..you are a pastor of the faith sir?” the guard asked, shocked.
“I compensated for my
shortcomings with basic green magicks, subsequently I am unfit to be
a healer. I offer succor in the form of my wisdom, but the church has
barred me from casting healing spells, preferring to use my green
magic for other..less savory purposes.”
the temple knight was at a loss for what to do, and it was clear to garland that he was expecting a healer of the church.
the temple knight was at a loss for what to do, and it was clear to garland that he was expecting a healer of the church.
“I have been long away from
the city.” garland explained. “two decades, in fact. My memory is
abominable and I seem to have forgotten much, if you would kindly
direct me to where I might fetch for you a proper healer, I will be
of service in that capacity my son.”
the temple knight brightened
at this, and with a bow gave garland directions to the white
district, an area of buildings comprised entirely of white stonework.
This was where most healers were trained, and after a moment he
nodded “ah yes, I remember now. Thank you my son, I fear I am not
the most competent of pastors, hence why I was asked to work outside
the city, but I shall see to it that healers are brought to you. I
shall return shortly.”
despite his reservations on the matter, garland decided that if he was to impersonate the clergy, he might as well own the role, and when he finally made his way to the white district, he wasn't disappointed by the sight.
despite his reservations on the matter, garland decided that if he was to impersonate the clergy, he might as well own the role, and when he finally made his way to the white district, he wasn't disappointed by the sight.
The white district spread
unfettered by the presence of trees, for a good three miles, white
buildings and towers of white and gold spread for a considerable
distance, light magic was all over the district, finding the healers
guild wasn't so difficult, when he entered he immediately asked if
there were any pastors free to aid him.
Two volunteered, and he
explained the situation to them complete with the lie that he was
unable to be a proper healer, and thus served the church in other
capacities. He introduced himself as father Xande, and explained that
a guard needed the services of healers right away.
Upon returning to what he
later learned was known as the “Primus” district, the guard
escorted the two healers into a nearby building.
Following after them garland
beheld a truly horrific sight.
An elf lay in bed, his skin
had gone pitch black and his extremities seemed to be turning into
shadows, he tried to figure out what the illness was by listening to
the healers as they discussed the disease with growing concern.
“Shadowblight.” one said,
shaking his head. “He will need to be burned.”
“can you do nothing?!” the guard asked.
“can you do nothing?!” the guard asked.
“it's a fatal illness, only
one whose heart is not aligned fully with our lord mateus can hope to
mitigate the disease. It would take a soul of true generosity, who
did not mind risking his own life, to even hold the disease. If he
was not resistant to it, he would also be consumed by it and become
contagious.
“Perhaps...” garland
began. “I might be of service after all.”
the two blinked as they turned to face him their expressions incredulous. “father, what are you saying? You are aligned with the lord, are you not?”
“there is a reason my capacity for healing arts is stunted.” garland explained as he moved to the elf. “I am not truly aligned with mateus. It is ever my curse to question all things, including the gods. Mark me my brethren, I am cursed with a mind that must always scrutinize, must always question..must always….”
“doubt.” came the accusing reply from one of the healers.
the two blinked as they turned to face him their expressions incredulous. “father, what are you saying? You are aligned with the lord, are you not?”
“there is a reason my capacity for healing arts is stunted.” garland explained as he moved to the elf. “I am not truly aligned with mateus. It is ever my curse to question all things, including the gods. Mark me my brethren, I am cursed with a mind that must always scrutinize, must always question..must always….”
“doubt.” came the accusing reply from one of the healers.
“for this, my capacity for
healing arts is bare, if not altogether nonexistent. My understanding
of the arcane is also sorely limited. I was asked to work outside the
city for this very reason, my questions are...not welcome in the
order of light. I ask things many would consider blasphemous. I was
recalled when I deemed it necessary to keep my mouth shut. However,
though I am a pastor of the luminaire faith, it is a title only, a
way to keep this foolish thinker from perhaps spreading information
or views that could potentially do great harm to the order. In other
words, I am kept on a leash, out of respect for my insightfulness,
and the potential a stray word can have to cause..inconvenience to
the order.”
“if your heart is not truly aligned with mateus...perhaps you can...take the shadowblight?” one healer mused.
“if your heart is not truly aligned with mateus...perhaps you can...take the shadowblight?” one healer mused.
“I could, my will may be
aligned with god, but my heart still doubts. A heart that beats with
doubt makes a marvelous nest for the shadows, i've found. And
eventually my heart will be swayed by the lord, I am sure of it, when
that time comes, the blight will be erased from my body.”
“and what if you don't? What if it consumes you?”
“then I discreetly abandon the city and live in isolation, where I will be consumed alone, without running the risk of spreading the disease.” garland replied calmly, and after a moment, the healers came to a consensus and gestured to the ill elf.
“and what if you don't? What if it consumes you?”
“then I discreetly abandon the city and live in isolation, where I will be consumed alone, without running the risk of spreading the disease.” garland replied calmly, and after a moment, the healers came to a consensus and gestured to the ill elf.
“Please father, we're aware
that this is unorthodox, but we shall be grateful for your
sacrifice.”
“I am all too happy to make it my sons!” garland replied, moving over to the elf.
“I am all too happy to make it my sons!” garland replied, moving over to the elf.
“Just imagine there's a
funnel in your hands, sucking out the shadows.” one healer
explained, and garland did precisely that.
He'd learned that the key to
controlling magic and manipulating magical fields was to visualize,
and have faith that the vision would connect to the real.
To his amazement, the dark
pall began to leave the elf, his extremities began to materialize, as
if they'd always been there.
Within mere minutes, garland
had effectively taken the darkness from the elf into himself, and
upon looking himself over, he admitted that he didn't feel any
different.
Turning to the elven healers
they stepped back in shock, shaking their heads, clearly confused.
“not even the stain of
shadow blights you!!” one said in amazement.
“do not mistake this for a
blessing.” garland warned as he looked himself over. “Be grateful
that men of doubt such as myself exist to fulfill such ends, but do
not presume that you should join our ranks. I have little doubt in my
mind that had anyone else attempted this, they would have been
consumed. Do not be impressed by what I did, look upon it with a grim
understanding that my actions today are a result of my flaws as a
pastor of the faith. Convenient, true, but flaws they yet remain.”
he bowed.
he bowed.
The guard rushed to the elf's
side. “Brother!! it'll be alright!! you've been cured!! thank you
father xande!! thank you for everything!!' he cried.
“it was a trifle. No doubt
once word of this spreads, I will be made into a pariah. Perhaps I
should consider leaving the city, even though I was recalled? I would
hate to stir trouble...”
“No!! it's...more than fine!! we of the luminaire faith believe that the flaws of men are part of what makes them beautiful, surely you remember that, yes?” one of the healers cried out, appalled by the idea that he would be made a pariah for such a kind act.
“No!! it's...more than fine!! we of the luminaire faith believe that the flaws of men are part of what makes them beautiful, surely you remember that, yes?” one of the healers cried out, appalled by the idea that he would be made a pariah for such a kind act.
It was then garland realized
something.
Elves were decidedly different
from humans, in that they were not overly mistrusting of one another,
even now the healers and the guard blessed him and thanked him from
the bottom of their hearts. Garland left the building and made for
the temple, feeling very much conflicted by this.
Had they been humans, doubt
and suspicion would surely have ruled them, turning their responses
into fear and disdain, instead they were praising him.
He shuddered at the idea that
he was worthy of praise at all, given his deception, and of course,
if too much attention was brought to the “dark priest xande” no
doubt his cover would be blown and he would be jailed, or worse,
sacrificed to mateus.
He needed to hurry, before
word of his good deed spread too far.]
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