Mythica, Book 2, Chapter 1.

Chapter 1.

“Sabine, do you think walking into a war zone is the best way to handle things?” Orren asked as they approached the city of Shamrahar.

The city was under siege and the sounds of the distant battle carried over to the trio as they traveled. There wasn’t much traffic on the road, but a few travelers had approached the city from the other direction and were all quickly intercepted by the forces besieging the city. The hapless travelers were turned away without any violence that Sabine could observe.

“I don’t see any other choice, we still need to find a ship and get to Golgotia, and we won’t accomplish that by skulking around,” Sabine replied.

“Skrix like skulk-hiding,” Skrix chimed in. Sabine was pretty sure he just wanted to be part of the conversation and didn’t really care how they approached the city.

The pull of Gnessos had gotten stronger as they approached the city. Sabine could feel his presence and sense the urgency Gnessos was trying to convey. Maybe it was time to summon Hamish and see if he had any additional insight. She paused and looked at the terrain around them. It was a rocky and open area, and the road had been maintained regularly, keeping it clear of obstructions. A bit further off the road, some dry scrub brush was growing that should shield Hamish from any casual observers.

“Over here, let’s see what Hamish has to add,” Sabine told the others as she led them into the brush. Once hidden as well as they could be, Sabine opened her storage pouch and dropped the bones of an orc on the ground in front of her. Calling Hamish’s name, the trio watched as the bones suddenly animated and stood up.

“Where are we?” Hamish asked, looking around the area before continuing. “Oh, I see you’ve reached the port, what is going on here?” Hamish asked as he observed the battle unfolding in the distance.

“For an advisor, you sure ask a lot of questions. We’re at Shamrahar and wondered if you had any insight before we head in,” Sabine said.

“This doesn’t look good, but I also don’t think that we have time to reach another port. It would take us weeks to get somewhere that might have a ship to Golgotia. It’s not exactly a desirable destination for most folks. My advice would be to ingratiate ourselves with one of the two groups and find a way to finagle passage to our destination,” Hamish advised.

“We’re going to run into the besiegers first, why don’t we start with them.

“I don’t see another alternative, and our master wants us to move quickly,” Hamish added.

“Why, I can sense his urgency, what’s changed?” Sabine asked. She wasn’t sure where Hamish went when he wasn’t summoned, but she did know that it was somewhere in the realm of the dead. Her advisor would have more insight into what was going on with Gnessos, despite the god being in some kind of slumber as he tried to regain his strength.

“The forces siphoning his power are growing stronger and our master fears the worst. Whatever foe is doing this grows more powerful by the day,” Hamish said.

“Again, Gnessos may be your master, but he is not mine. I have a deal with him, and as long as he keeps his side of the bargain, I will keep mine,” Sabine said sharply. While Gnessos favor powered her new existence, she refused to be ruled by anyone, even one of the minor gods of death.

“You’re right, our, make that my, master has allowed you to see to your family and kept his side of your bargain. Your sister’s offspring are safe and well taken care of due to your efforts and my master’s beneficence. I will remind you that whatever it is that threatens the very gods, threatens all living things. Don’t think that your family will be spared if our foes achieve their goals,” Hamish said.

“Can you be sure of that? How do we know the ones threatening the gods are a threat to mortals?” Orren asked. It was a reasonable question, and one that Sabine had wondered about. Instead of an immediate answer, Hamish stared directly at Sabine and projected his voice directly into her mind. What he had to say was for her alone.

“The power of the gods of death is not some simple magical energy that any mage could siphon off and utilize. Only a practitioner of the dark arts of necromancy could do something on this scale. In his slumber, Gnessos has seen their ultimate goal and is allowing me to share that vision with you,” Hamish said.

Sabine’s vision went dark for a moment before returning. The city before her was still Shamrahar, but it had changed. She could sense that much time had passed and the battle for the city was over. Neither side in the current conflict had claimed victory. Inside the ruins of the Shamrahar, shapes moved. Sabine could sense no life here, her Eyes of Undeath revealed that only the undead reigned here now.

Her focus zoomed out and then locked onto other cities, towns, and villages. The scene was always the same, the living were no longer in possession of this world, and it was now a world of the dead. Her vision fixed on a final village; one she recognized as her sister’s.

“No! I refuse to see this!” Sabine roared in her mind. The connection between her and Hamish broke, and she felt drained from the experience. A quick check showed that her mana was down to 50%. Whatever Hamish and Gnessos had done to give her this vision had required much from her.

“Sabine, is everything okay?” Orren asked, looking worried as Sabine sagged to her knees.

“I’m fine, just give me a moment please,” she replied before focusing on Hamish once more.

“You saw what is to come,”Hamish told her.

“How do I know that vision was true?” Sabine asked.

“I can be accused of many things, but I have never been known as a liar,” Gnessos said, using the link with Hamish to communicate with her directly. Sabine and Hamish’s mana was drained as Gnessos used it to power the connection.

“There is no need for me to play games and conjure false images to manipulate you. I told you when you I first created you that there was risk to your family due to the foe we face. Our opponents seek to create a realm of the dead that a powerful few will rule over. Everyone you know, everyone you love will be transformed into mindless undead. Is that what you wish for your family? Is that what you wish for Orren and Skrix?” Gnessos asked.

Sabine felt sick as her mana drained. Such a direct connection laid bare her fears and concerns, making them easy for Gnessos to read. But the link went both ways, and she could feel that Gnessos wasn’t lying to her. He had saved the image of her sister’s village for last, a simple strategy to maximize the impact, but what he had shown was what he believed would occur.

There was more she could discern from their connection; she could feel fear in the god of death. It was an emotion he couldn’t hide, and if something could make a god of death to feel fear, it was something that needed to be stopped. Initially, it had been her desire to save her family that had spurred Sabine on, now, she also refused to see such a horrible fate affect both Orren and Skrix.

“I believe you, but why the urgency, and why risk your diminishing power to contact me directly?” Sabine asked.

“I cannot have you falter from the path; our foes accelerate their plans and I fear that time is shorter than previously thought. The only further advice I can give is for you to get to Golgotia, the city you seek is Tarasan. Somewhere in or near that city is where the source of this evil grows. Stop them, or all is lost,” Gnessos said.

The connection between them was broken painfully. Sabine felt her body drop to the ground. Her mana was nearly at zero and she lacked the strength to stand. Hamish was also gone, the mana keeping him in the realm of the living had been completely drained by Gnessos to power their conversation.

“Sabine-boss, how can Skrix help?” Skrix asked. Sabine could hear concern in his voice.

“Give me a few minutes to recover, I will be fine,” Sabine assured the others.

As she waited for her mana to recover, Sabine reviewed her information, finding that not only had Gnessos’ brief visit drained both her and Hamish’s mana, but he also needed to claw back some of the favor he had granted her. Skrix gathered up the orc bones that Hamish had used, placing them back in Sabine’s storage pouch as she took time to recover and review.

Revenant, Rank 5.

Gnessos’ Favor: 118/2500.

Mana: 1%.

Titles:

1. Zalzaran’s Bane. By defeating the champion of one of Gnessos’ rivals, you have solen some of that champion’s power and now have some control over corruption and decay. Because this is a stolen ability, you must experiment and discover how to use it on your own. Beware, by eliminating his avatar, you have created enmity with the god Zalzaran. Any of his followers will react to you with great hostility and violence.

Traits:

1. Call of the Grave. This ability allows you to locate and call forth the remains from any nearby grave site and carry them with you for Hamish’s later use. This ability will improve and evolve as you gain favor.

2. Eyes of Undeath. This ability allows you to sense the life force of beings, the presence of the undead, and nearby mana. The champions of rival gods can be detected if you are in visual range of them. This ability will improve and evolve as you gain favor.

3. Soulbound. A portion of your power has been siphoned off and given to your advisor Hamish. Your advisor may be summoned once every 4 hours. This ability will improve and evolve as you gain favor.

4. Enhanced body. By attaining rank 5, your revenant body continues to improve. These improvements are represented as a percentage increase over what the body possessed when it was still alive.

Strength: +75%.

Durability: +30%

5. Translator of the Fallen. Your connection to the realm of the dead is one that allows you access to many things. One of these things is the ability to quickly learn the language of any soul that has passed through Gnessos’ hands.

Abilities:

1. Manipulate Mana. Your mana capacity has increased and mana efficiency for all abilities has improved by 48%.

2. Rapid Healing. This ability allows you to cycle your mana into the body of an ally to temporarily increase their rate of natural healing for a short time.

3. Stagger. Empower your weapon with mana, causing the blow to slow and deal crushing damage to anything in a 25-foot cone. The duration of the slowing effect is 4 seconds, but powerful foes may resist this ability.

4. Rage of the Revenant. Summon the rage-filled spirit of the body you now wear, flooding yourself with power and generating mana at a surprising rate. This effect lasts for 60 seconds. The power you unleash will slowly tear you apart, eventually overcoming your mana’s ability to heal you.

Rage of the Revenant can only be activated once every 5 days and only when you’re facing imminent destruction. You must select one target for your rage and when your target is eliminated, the ability will end, and you will enter a weakened state until your body has time to recover.

Equipment:

1. Reckoning. This flail is forged of an unknown material and is the embodiment of a revenant’s quest for vengeance. Bound to you, Reckoning cannot be wielded by any other. Should someone try to take the weapon from you, they will be immediately afflicted with a necrotic curse until they release the weapon. If lost or destroyed, Revenant will slowly reform in the land of the dead until it is ready for you to summon it once more.

This weapon will amplify any mana infused into it, and channel it into the type of damage the wielder wishes. Currently, the weapon can amplify mana damage by 25%. Reckoning can create crushing, piercing, and slashing damage. More damage types and additional abilities may be unlocked as you gain Gnessos’ favor.

This weapon still rebels against your control, but your mastery over it has reached the point where a new ability has been unlocked. In addition to pushing mana into the weapon to improve its damage, you may now infuse additional mana into Reckoning to increase its range. The maximum range for this ability is 15-feet.

2. Mask of False Life. When worn, this mask allows your undead form to take on a normal appearance. This item also grants the Rapid Healing ability. Should it be removed, that ability will also cease to function.

The Mask of False Life will also hide your presence from the champions of rival gods, though followers of Zalzaran can see through the disguise due to the title you possess.

3. Toe Picker. This dagger has received minor enchantments from a long-forgotten god. The weapon is attuned to your mana and can even store a small charge for a time. When mana is pushed into the weapon, the rune storage system will activate. Three mana charges may be stored inside the weapon, with your choice of blunt, piercing, or slashing damage.

When you strike a foe with Toe Picker, you may choose to release a charge from inside the blade or leave the charges for later threats. Natural enhancements to the blade’s sharpness and durability make it a formidable weapon even without the addition of mana. Attuned to you specifically, if the weapon is broken or stolen, it will eventually reappear inside your storage space.

4. Shell Hound Plate. This set of armor has been fashioned from the plates of a shell hound and treated in various elixirs to make it more resistant to shattering. Attuned specifically to you, the armor enhances any mana you may infuse into it.

Created in the realm of the dead, the armor can never truly be destroyed. Should it become damaged, you may perform minor repairs using your mana. If it is too damaged to be useful, the armor will be summoned into your personal storage area inside the realm of the dead. Once inside the realm, the armor will slowly mend itself and eventually be ready for your use once more.

Advisor upgrades:

1. Path of Summons. Path of summons grants an expanded mana pool to your advisor. He will also pull a larger portion of any new mana you acquire. With this new mana, Hamish will be able to stay summoned for a longer period and will develop new abilities that will help you with physical tasks and combat. He can now be summoned every 4 hours and can remain in the physical real for up to 1 hour. Mana powers your advisor’s abilities and if he uses it to cast spells or activate abilities, it will greatly shorten his time in the physical world.

Path Abilities:

1. Summon Minor Undead. This ability allows Hamish to use some of his mana pool to summon a simple undead creature to aid your efforts. The creature will only exist for 1 minute per rank of favor. At your current rank, Hamish can only summon 1 minor undead at a time. Summoned undead will follow Hamish’s simple commands and lack any special abilities or equipment. Summoned creatures are tied to your rank, and the higher the rank, the more powerful Hamish’s summons will become. Note that Summon Minor Undead has a rank limit of 10.

2. Expert Summoner. This ability allows Hamish to maintain 1 additional summons over his current maximum.

“Hey, Sabine-boss, somebody’s coming,” Skrix announced.

Sabine pulled her attention away from her review and spotted a party of five armed men approaching along the road. They wore matching leather armor with the symbol of a blue ship emblazoned on their chests. They were still outside the range of her Eyes of Undeath, or she would have noticed them earlier. Their path would lead them right to her party, and it was obvious that they had been spotted before hiding in the scrub brush.

“Everyone stay calm and let me do the talking here,” Sabine ordered as the armed men drew closer.